News Broadcasting
iTV Network launches regional channel India News Gujarat
MUMBAI: News broadcaster iTV Network has expanded further into the regional news space with the launch of a dedicated channel for Gujarat – India News Gujarat on 4 December 2017.
The channel being formally inaugurated in Gandhinagar, India News Gujarat will seek answers to burning questions and highlight matters that concern Gujaratis across the globe.
iTV Network’s existing regional channel offering includes India News Haryana, India News Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand, India News Rajasthan, India News Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh and India News Punjab, which reiterate the network’s strong foothold in the regional news market.
The channel will focus on well-researched, high-impact content aimed at striking a true chord that captures the imagination of the Gujarati community. The channel will maintain brand India News’ emphasis on current subjects, concerns and trends with entertainment elements thrown in an infotainment platter aimed at accentuating the uniqueness of Gujaratis.
Being launched ahead of the highly-anticipated Gujarat Elections, 2017, the Gujarat Debate will be a programme to watch out for.
Speaking about the new venture, iTV Network founder and promoter Kartikeya Sharma, said, “Regional and local concerns often get subsumed in national broadcasting formats. We strongly believe regional programming must be given the due space and promotion it deserves. The launch of India News Gujarat is our response to the need for credible providers of regional news services in the state. Gujarat is a vibrant, development-oriented state and our new channel seeks to capture its diversity and plurality in the inimitable India News format, characterised by crisp reportage and engaging presentation.”
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.
