News Broadcasting
Times Network forays into Hindi news with a bid to create ‘New India’
New Delhi: Making its foray into Hindi news, Times Network on Sunday launched its new channel, Times Now Navbharat HD. The new entrant is being spearheaded by Times Now’s group editor Navika Kumar who will lead the editorial mandate and handle the overall management of the channel.
The channel will be available across all the leading cable operators, MSOs and DTH platforms including Tata Sky, Airtel DTH, Hathway Digital, and DEN Digital, said the network. It has also launched an extensive outdoor campaign for promoting the new brand with a positioning- ‘Ab Badlega Bharat, Banega Navbharat’.
“We are not in the race for TRP,” said Times Network MD and CEO MK Anand at the channel launch, adding that ‘Times Now Navbharat’ is part of the network’s effort to convey people’s correct and accurate message to the government and vice versa.”
“In the world of English news channels, we have been running Times Now with the same resolution for the past 16 years. Issues which we raise at Times Now, they become a topic of discussion among people the next day and reason for a change in the society and political circles. We work tirelessly on such issues and news which are in public interest and also contribute to the welfare of the country and the society. This helps us get TRP organically,” said Anand. “We believe that news has the power to make an impact on our society and also help make it a better place to live in.”
According to Anand a “new India” will emerge only when key and important issues are raised in a right manner, and also when there is a proper communication between people of the country and the government.
The channel was launched with seven prime-time shows hosted by Sushant Sinha, Padmaja Joshi, Ankit Tyagi, and Meenakshi Kandwal. The primetime shows include Rashtravad at 5 pm, Log Tantra at 6 pm, Dhakad Exclusive at 7 pm, Sawal Public Ka at 8 pm, News Ki PaathShala at 9 pm, and Opinion India at 10 pm.
The mega marketing campaign launched across Hindi-speaking markets was conceptualised by McCann Worldgroup India. The network has also unveiled a brand film highlighting the channel’s genesis and brand manifesto written by noted lyricist Prasoon Joshi.
Apart from print ads in leading English and Hindi dailies, the network has launched an extensive outdoor promotion spanning across 400 sites across 19 cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, Jaipur, Dehradun, Indore, Punjab, Raipur and Varanasi. Kent RO System, Century Ply, Radico Khaitan, Vedanta, Medibuddy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Darwin Platform Group of Companies, Mylab Discovery Solutions, Meghdoot Herbal, Kirloskar Brothers are some of the advertisers currently onboard.
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.
