News Broadcasting
Republic TV retains lead as Times Now narrows gap
BENGALURU / MUMBAI: The on-air spat continued unabated as the Broadcast Audience Research council of India (BARC) released it numbers to its paid subscribers for week 26 of 2017 (Saturday, 24 June 2017 to Friday, 30 June 2017) at 11am on Thursday.
When BARC released public data, it was observed that while there was an increase from 868 to 965 impressions (000s) Sum — a difference of 97. Times Now, albeit at the second position, grew in impressions from 670 to 868 — a difference of 198 impressions (000s) Sum. India Today Television and CNN News18 interchanged their positions and this week featured at the third and fourth positions, respectively.
Earlier, at 11am telecast, both channels continued to claim numero uno status in the English New genre on air, bandying their own interpretations of the statistics. BARC numbers of the top 5 English News genre channels (All India (U+R) : NCCS AB : Males 22+ Individuals) that are released at 1300 hours in the public domain show the new entrant Republic TV continued to lead ratings in week 26.
Republic TV led the table at first place with 9,65,000 weekly impressions followed by once upon a time leader Times Now with 8,68,000 weekly impressions in week 26 of 2017. Following as if by rote at number 3 was India Today Television with 4,51,000 weekly impressions. Network 18’s English News channel CNN was placed fourth with 3,80,000 impressions followed by NDTV with 3,44,000 weekly impressions.
Right from the time it was launched in week 19 of 2017 (Saturday, 6 May 2017 to Friday, 12 May 2017), Republic TV has been leading the English News genre ratings. The channel opened its launch week, week with a bang, displacing Times Now as the genre leader, with a massive 21,18,000 weekly impressions. Times Now, the second most watched English News genre channel in week 19 trailed far behind with 11,48,000 weekly impressions. Over time, the gap between the two has narrowed down and in week 24 of 2015, the difference in the ratings of these two main protagonists in the English News genre was 28,000 weekly impressions with Republic TV’s ratings at 963,000 weekly impressions to Times Now ratings at 935,000 weekly impressions.
As reported by Indiantelevision.com earlier, the launch of Republic TV gave rise to an ugly war between the existing Indian English News channels and the new entrant. For one week, week 21 of 2017, ratings of the top Indian English news channels were not published as they had stripped their new feeds of the BARC audio watermark. The NBA-backed channels returned to the BARC fold in week 22.
News Broadcasting
Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
