News Broadcasting
Aaj Tak introduces Anjana 2.0, an AI Anchor modelled on a ‘Human’ anchor
Mumbai: Aaj Tak being the industry’s torchbearer, continues to establish its leadership with India’s first-ever AI Anchor modelled on a ‘human’ anchor. India’s most popular Hindi news anchor and Aaj Tak’s prolific news presenter, Anjana Om Kashyap, will now be complemented with an AI Avatar, Anjana 2.0.
In the history of Indian Broadcast Journalism, no other channel has consistently introduced such groundbreaking technological innovations. With general elections around the corner, Anjana and Anjana 2.0 will be seen in a formidable partnership both on-ground and on-screen. Anjana is the managing editor of ‘Aaj Tak’ and has gained country-wide popularity for her shows ‘Halla Bol’ and ‘Special Reports’. Introduced in prime time on Tuesday, the AI avatar has already started to create a buzz on social media with netizens pouring in with their comments.
With Anjana 2.0, Aaj Tak will have its second AI Anchor featuring prime-time programming on a national television channel. In the recent past, Aaj Tak introduced India’s first-ever AI Anchor SANA’ who is gaining success owing to her news presentation and production with wide-ranging interviews of state heads, business leaders, entertainment megastars etc. In under six months, Sana has already earned numerous accolades both on a national and international scale, including interacting with PM Modi (the first AI Anchor to interact with a head of the state), Reading a French bulletin, anchoring a dedicated show on prime-time, and interacted with global business leaders like Brad Smith of Microsoft, celebrities like Shahrukh Khan and TV personality Seema Taparia.
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.
