News Broadcasting
Star News gears up for elections
MUMBAI: In about a months time from today, over 10,000 candidates from 170 political parties will be appealing to 653,726,115 voters. A single question that will be asked is who is going to be the Prime Minister? After Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri, Star News’ Kaun Banega Pradanmantri looks to answer the most asked question as best as it can.
The journey to this answer will cover live bulletins, opinion polls, exit polls, interviews, heated debates, expert analyses and interviews with experts as well as general public. Kaun Banega dhaPranmantri will have the largest newsgathering team across the country supported by the latest technology in broadcasting, which will keep you posted with up-to-the-minute election-related news.
“Kaun Banega Pradhnamantri will be an innovative approach to election programming. This election will be fought on satellite television and the viewer will not tolerate a dated approach to news. The voter is younger than before, the programming will have to be relevant and involving,” says Star News president Ravina Raj Kohli. “The programming will also be supported by on ground activities of unprecedented scale,” she adds.
Kaun Banega Pradhanmantri will provide an opportunity for the common man to actively participate in a peoples programme which will raise issues ranging from availability of basic amenities like clean drinking water, electricity, roads, education, etc. to the law and order situation, womens issues, growth in the agricultural and the industrial sectors.
“One of the criteria for the success of a programme is reflected in the large number of advertisers who get associated with it. In the recent past our programmes like Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri and Kya Karenge Vittmantri were one of the most watched programmes,” says Star News senior vice president ad sales Joy Chakraborthy. “Kaun Banega Pradhanmantri will surely attract larger viewership. KBPM has already started attracting sponsors and advertisers from the very start. Samsung as the presenting sponsor and Raymond and Sukam as associate sponsors have been the first off the blocks, with many more in the pipeline,” he further adds.
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.
