News Broadcasting
CNBC-TV18 Prime Circle sets the stage for a global mind jam
MUMBAI: The suits are getting serious and global. CNBC-TV18 Prime is all set to unveil its latest brainchild: the Prime Circle, a high-octane, invitation-only gathering of heavyweight thinkers, business titans and policy pundits. The debut edition kicks off on 16 July in partnership with HDFC Tru, promising an evening brimming with ideas, intellect and a splash of wine wisdom.
Designed as a marquee platform for global dialogue, Prime Circle will bring together powerhouses navigating today’s fractured world from macroeconomic mayhem to AI overdrive and geopolitical chess.
On the speakers’ list: Manny Maceda, chairman of Bain & Company; Robert Rosenkranz, chairman of Delphi Capital Management; George Yeo, former foreign affairs minister of Singapore; Shyam Saran, ex-foreign secretary of India; and Dhiraj Relli, MD and CEO at HDFC Securities. These aren’t your everyday talking heads, they’re the ones shaping the playbook.
Adding sparkle to the evening: Sonal Holland, India’s only Master of Wine, who’ll uncork a curated tasting session to keep the conversation as smooth as the pour.
Speaking about the event, Smriti Mehra, CEO, Business News, Network18 from CNBC-TV18 Prime said, “CNBC-TV18 Prime aims to bring the pulse of global markets to India through an India-first lens. With Prime Circle, we are creating a marquee platform for high-impact, strategic conversations that reflect the opportunities and risks for India, a global force to recon with . We are honoured to welcome an exceptional line-up of voices who offer real perspective, experience, and foresight.”
Speaking on the partnership, Relli stated, “Our partnership with CNBC-TV18 Prime enables us to leverage our research-driven expertise to deliver actionable market insights and foster financial literacy across television and digital platforms. We look forward to co-creating impactful content, engaging with investors at marquee events, and, through the upcoming Prime Circle event, facilitating meaningful global dialogue that shapes the future of India’s capital markets.”
The Prime Circle is CNBC-TV18 Prime’s bid to push past the predictable panel and into something punchier: a space where power meets perspective, with a twist of terroir.
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.
