News Broadcasting
News18 HSM network steps up to address key issues through special initiatives
Mumbai: News18 Network as India’s largest news network has always believed in raising and addressing issues that are affecting the people of the country and are often been overlooked. Staying true to its ethos, the network’s channels – News18 Bihar/Jharkhand and News18 Urdu announced two new campaigns on the birth anniversary of a great leader and a freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi.
‘Saaf Safai Zaroori Hai Bhai,’ a month-long campaign by News18 Bihar/Jharkhand aims to achieve the vision of a clean Bihar, which is an integral part to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a clean and hygienic India, with its capital being the dirtiest city. The campaign will find areas suffering from lack of sanitation and cleanliness and will adopt various means to improve the quality of life of citizens by enhancing excess to basic sanitation facilities and evoke a sense of responsibility by asking people to join hands and actively participate in cleanliness activities to achieve the aim of making Bihar a ‘swachh’ state.
The campaign will have three elements:
Mr Clean, a dedicated reporter who will travel across the length & breadth of the state to bring updates on hygiene status in every corner.
Swachchta Helpline, a special number, which will enable viewers to share images of areas lacking proper sanitation and cleanliness.
Appreciating ‘Swachata Ke Hero,’ who are doing stellar work in maintaining cleanliness and hygiene.
‘Aurton Ka Haq: Koi Shak?’ by News18 Urdu is another three-four week-long campaign with the goal to combat discrimination against women and ensure equal rights, safety, and overall respect for all. The campaign will look at stories and case studies from across the country including belts where the minority community is dominant. Debates and other special shows will also be included to highlight key women-related issues and finding means to address them. Eminent personalities like Janab Imran Hussain Sahab, Delhi cabinet minister- food & supply, election and environment & forest, social activist Tahira Hasan, singer Pragnya Wakhlu are coming out in support of the campaign.
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: 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.
