News Broadcasting
Six Times Network employees test positive for COVID-19
MUMBAI: Times Network has informed that six of its staff members have been tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, as the pandemic shows no signs of abating.
An official statement of Times Network says that while fulfilling their duties, four colleagues at Mirror Now and two support staff members (shared resources) “have been tested positive despite practicing all safety measures and precautions.”
“Following Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation guidance, they (employees who have been tested positive) have been shifted to the mandatory quarantine facility at a private hospital in Mumbai and are doing fine.”
The network has informed that the rest of the team members have all been tested negative and continue to be lodged safely. “Similarly, the operations of Mirror Now and ET Now have been shifted to an alternate location in Mumbai to ensure non-stop news coverage to our viewers, which was kept ready for an emergency scenario and managed by a fresh standby team,” reads the statement.
“In spite of this mishap, the network will continue with the strategy of housing our teams in captive locations as we believe this is the safest option to ensure they don’t get infected by the virus,” said the statement.
Times Network has already opted for WFH alternative to minimise external contact by following the government’s decision to be in self-isolation to curb the spread of the virus.
The network’s news headquarters and tech teams were also accommodated in captive locations within our premises and other boarding locations in Mumbai and Delhi with dedicated sanitised transportation to ensure they did not have to travel from home daily.
The media company also said that it stands by its commitment to ensure employee and their families’ safety, and responsibility to the larger community as it continues to offer seamless broadcast service to the viewers.
So far, India has reported over 8,000 positive cases of COVID-19, Maharashtra tops with nearly 2,000 cases alone. The death toll due to the virus has surpassed the 250-mark across the country.
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:Â 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.
