News Broadcasting
Network18 digital onboards Rohit Chadda as group chief strategy officer
Mumbai: Network18 has announced the appointment of Rohit Chadda as group chief strategy officer for its digital arm. He was previously associated with Zee Group as the CEO-digital publishing for over four years.
In his new role, Rohit will drive important business & strategic projects, growth, new initiatives around product, content, audience & video across the network, and new business/product development for the digital business, the channel said in a statement.
He will work closely with the leadership team to sharpen the strategy and deployment for scaling the business & operations and will report to Network18 digital president & CEO Puneet Singhvi, it added.
An award-winning entrepreneur, Rohit has extensive experience across technology, e-commerce, fintech, OTT, and media & entertainment. He also co-founded two start-ups – Foodpanda and PayLo.
Speaking on his appointment, Rohit said, “I am elated to be a part of Network18, a platform renowned to thrive in excellence. I am excited to join the remarkable team and execute on all the exciting upcoming initiatives. The future is here and untapped – I am looking forward to creating value for the network and its portfolio of companies.”
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.
