News Broadcasting
Sony BBC Earth to premiere docu-film ‘Coronavirus: How to Isolate Yourself’ on 13 April
MUMBAI: As the war against the COVID-19 deepens with billions of people across the world facing a period of self-isolation to help contain the spread, Sony BBC Earth is bringing to India a critical docu-film ‘Coronavirus: How to Isolate Yourself’. Premiering on 13 April 2020 at 9 pm and presented by Dr Xand Van Tulleken and Psychologist Kimberley Wilson, the one-hour feature is a one-step guide to everything one needs to know about this pandemic and is full of useful and credible tips and advice.
Tulleken is a registered doctor with the General Medical Council of the UK and a renowned presenter. To comprehend the situation, he visits leading experts who explain why self-isolation is most important in this fight against coronavirus, as well as finds out about people’s real-world challenges of self-isolating. The docu-film also focusses on Kimberly who offers insights into the psychological challenges of self-isolating, talks about how to manage anxiety and provides key takeaways that everyone must adapt while self-isolating.
Coronavirus is a serious concern and while there is a long road to recovery, the crucial thing to understand is that every individual can play a part in slowing it down by self-isolating. Additionally, there is a plethora of information accessible to all which may lead to confusion and contradiction, but, one must remember that just like the virus, wrong information too is contagious. Hence Sony BBC Earth is premiering the most important docu-film of the current times, ‘Coronavirus: How to Isolate Yourself’.
SPN English Custer business head Tushar Shah says, "Sony BBC Earth as a responsible brand has always been true to providing credible and insightful information. With ‘Coronavirus: How to Isolate Yourself’, it is, yet again our endeavour to bring to the viewers, in real time, a need-of-the-hour documentary to help clarify the many questions around the most critical step in containing the virus – self isolation."
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.
