News Broadcasting
Sony BBC Earth, along with Bhumi Pednekar, rewards ‘Young Earth Champions’
MUMBAI: Children are the backbone of the nation who have the power and the passion to drive a positive change in society. To inspire kids to be catalysts for conservation and do their bit towards a sustainable society, Sony BBC Earth launched the Young Earth Champions contest at the start of the year, in partnership with climate warrior Bhumi Pednekar. The month-long contest which concluded recently, saw thousands of young eco-conscious minds lead by example to prove that every step counts when it comes to sustainability.
This nationwide contest, open for fifth to ninth standard kids, invited the most innovative ideas for building sustainable cities and communities. From the hundreds of entries received, the experts from IIT-Bombay helped shortlist 10 winners who then got a chance to interact with Bollywood actor Bhumi Pednekar and with Prof Vamsi Botlaguduru from IIT-Bombay about their ideas and the future of sustainable living. Additionally, top 50 participants received a certificate of excellence from Sony BBC Earth.
Pednekar, who is a strong advocate of environmental conservation through her flagship initiative – Climate Warrior, played an important role in inspiring kids to participate in the contest and encouraging them to continue their efforts towards a more sustainable tomorrow. She also announced the mega winner during the live interactive session, Avigyan Kishor Das, who will soon be featured on the channel and will win an exclusive hamper worth Rs 50,000 for his innovative green device which can help curb pollution caused by emission from vehicles.
Overall, the month-long contest received over 1,100 entries from young minds all over India and led to over 3.2 lakh visits on the website. This was possible due to the extensive marketing efforts which included promos not only on Sony BBC Earth but also on other channels within the Sony network. Additionally, extensive promotions on Sony BBC Earth’s social media pages, further amplified by cross promotions on other handles of Sony network, on Bhumi’s social media pages and even on promotional partners – Mom Junction and Baby Chakra’s pages helped spread the word about the contest.
To find out more about the top ten winning entries, one can visit https://www.sonybbcearth.com/youngearthchampions/.
Sony Pictures Networks India English cluster business head Tushar Shah said,"Through Young Earth Champions contest, we decided to elevate the voices of the youth and let them lead the way towards a sustainable future. It was overwhelming to see the enthusiasm and passion in the children. We are also extremely thankful to Bhumi Pednekar and Professor Vamsi for supporting us and for inspiring children to not stop with this one contest, but to make this a lifestyle.”
Climate warrior & actress Bhumi Pednekar said,“Addressing issues about our environment and promoting sustainability is a need of the hour and there is no better audience set than the children of our nation as the future lies in their hands. I am glad that Sony BBC Earth involved me in this project as sustainability for me is a way of life. It was inspiring and reassuring to witness the innovative ideas of these young eco-conscious minds. These children indeed have the potential to be the catalyst for change and inspire many others”.
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.
