News Broadcasting
Disney terms Miramax unprofitable; Weinsteins ready to buy back
MUMBAI: The souring relationship between Miramax studio and its parent Walt Disney Company has triggered a war of statements. While Disney has downright given Miramax the loser’s tag, founders and co-chairmen of Miramax — Harvey and Bob Weinstein — have asked Disney to quote a sum so that they can buy back the studio.
Last week, Eisner went on record saying Disney had no plans to sell Miramax though the studio had been unprofitable in three of the past five years. While opposing Eisner’s statement, Miramax spokesman Matthew Hiltzik said the studio was making money, as evidenced by Disney’s having had to pay the Weinsteins a bonus that had been predicated on Miramax’ turning a profit.
”If Disney thinks Miramax is so unprofitable, Bob and Harvey would be happy to buy it back if Disney names the price,” Hiltzik was quoted as saying in media reports.
This made Disney President Robert Iger to extend his support to Eisner by claiming Miramax has been unprofitable in recent years.
”They’re not taking into account standard overhead, distribution fees, bonuses that we pay Bob and Harvey. Nor are they applying current accounting rules. So, yes, there are two sides to the story, but I think our side of the story is a rather credible side,” Iger was quoted as saying in reports.
Disney acquired Miramax 11 years ago. It is reported that Disney intends to pay Weinstein brothers less money and to impose caps on exploding budgets at Miramax. The studio known for breeding small and inexpensive films has been focusing on expensive projects of late as last year’s $80 million Cold Mountain and $70 million The Green Hornet, which is currently under production.
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.
