News Broadcasting
Nickelodeon Chhota VJ Hunt draws nearly 300 responses in Mumbai
Kids channel Nickelodeon held auditions for kids who want to be a VJ on the channel on Saturday and Sunday at Worli Naka in South Mumbai. And did the children stroll in! Over 275 kids filled in application forms and auditioned to become the junior Cyrus’, Nikhils and Nafisas.
The auditions took place in a studio in front of a camera with the production team guiding the children through the proceedings. Kids aged 14 and below identified themselves and spoke about their interests. They also explained the reasons for wanting to appear on the channel. Then they performed. Performances varied from a rap song to a mock interview.
MTV India director marketing Vikram Raizada says that the earlier auditions held in Bangalore and Chennai garnered 150 and 100 responses respectively. The response in Mumbai with over 275 wannabe VJs was higher due to the population size and increased awareness. Two spots have been airing on Nick, MTV and Zee English and MGM.One aims at stirring interest in the hunt while the other is in the form of a livewire. This gives information of audition dates and how kids can post their entries or send them online.
In terms of other promotional activities the Chota VJ Hunt effort is getting radio support in the form of spots on the Midday run radio station Go. Print ads have also featured in major publications with ground support in the form of road shows with flyers being distributed where kids hang out.
Raizada said that the objective of the hunt is not just to increase brandawareness but also to tell kids that the exclusive space where they can have fun and enjoy themselves has just expanded.
Through feedback and market research the channel found that kids wanted to be on the tube and see themselves on it.
The final stage of live auditions will take place in Delhi on 15 June. As mentioned earlier the Chhota VJ hunt, which gives a kid the chance to host Nick Masala on the channel and on the Nickelodeon block on Zee TV, closes on 30 June.
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI:Â Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
