News Broadcasting
CNN documentary marks anniversary of Iraq war
MUMBAI: One year after the US invaded Iraq searching for weapons of mass destruction, CNN has announced a documentary on the subject. CNN correspondent Nic Robertson returns to take the pulse of a nation still coming to terms with life without Saddam Hussein.
His documentary is titled Hope and Fear: Journeys in the New Iraq and forms a focal part of a week of coverage on CNN International marking the first anniversary of the Iraq war.
The show airs on 27 March at 6:30 pm with repeats on 28 March at 10:30 am and on 31 March at 6:30 pm.
Robertson looks at the daily lives of six individuals who face the traumas and successes of life in post-war Iraq. The group includes an American soldier, a Baghdad police officer, a Shiite widow, a Shiite cleric and a Kurdish entrepreneur. CNNs anniversary coverage also includes on-the-ground reports from CNN correspondents Walter Rodgers and Jane Arraf on the challenges and successes of building a new Iraq.
On 30 June, the US plans to return sovereignty to the Iraqis. This documentary thus comes at a critical threshold in that country’s history. In the documentary through the eyes of the six characters, Robertson perceives much anger among Iraqis since liberation has given way to occupation. Many are also apprehensive that persistent violence and the arrival of international terrorism in Iraq will kill any prospect of stability.
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.
