News Broadcasting
NDTV-Fortis campaign has ‘More To Give’
MUMBAI: The television network that is known for taking up social issues through awareness campaigns is adding another to its cap.
NDTV, in partnership with Fortis Healthcare, has hosted the More To Give walkathon. The campaign intends to promote and raise awareness about organ donation, in lieu of the low rate of organ donation compared to a high rate of requirement for organ transplants in our country on the occasion of Indian Organ Donation Day.
The walkathon was flagged off by actor and the ambassador for the NDTV Fortis More To Give campaign Irrfan Khan along with Paralympic silver medalist Deepa Malik. “Every year, about four lakh people die awaiting organ transplants because of non-availability of organs. With More to Give, we aim to raise awareness about the pressing need for organ donations and encourage people to join this cause,” said NDTV group CEO and executive vice chairperson K V L Narayan Rao.
The campaign was launched earlier this year decided to take up the cause of organ donation in an effort to positively impact the well-being of the nation. It aimed at sensitizing the eco-system, raising awareness around organ donation, creating a nationwide movement for people to pledge their organs and to make the process of pledging easily accessible to the masses.
Malik said, “When people like Irrfan promote such a campaign it becomes an instrument of awareness. We must initiate such campaigns. The Walkathon is not about walking, the message should prevail.”
According to current statistics, in India, the current organ donation rate is 0.5 donors per million population as compared to more than 30 donors per million in some western countries.
Fortis Healthcare CEO Bhavdeep Singh asserted, “There is a widening chasm between the demand of organs for people at end stages and their availability. Adding to the complexity is the lack of awareness, simultaneously surrounded by superstitions which present themselves as the key obstacles. Donating organs is a humanitarian cause that will gain momentum with increasing awareness in society. At Fortis, we will continue to contribute as much as we can by educating people and saving more and more lives. This walkathon is a reminder that each one of us has more to give.”
As a culmination of the four-month long campaign, the walkathon was organized across 5 cities – New Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Mohali and Chennai which saw people from all walks of life including students, Corporates, etc. participating in the event.
“I talk about Organ Donation to everybody who is around me. My relatives have faced problems, my nephew’s wife has suffered organ failure. Please donate your organs, make someone else live their life: Irrfan Khan, Actor and #MoreToGive Campaign Ambassador,” added Khan.
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.
