News Broadcasting
Aaj Tak makes waves in the political circuit
MUMBAI: Aaj Tak’s recent expose on the Mumbai BJP unit distributing application form for the recently launched social security scheme with the BJP symbol has the complete political circuit working overtime. While the Congress held a press conference in Delhi on Sunday to highlight the misdoing of the ruling party based on the Aaj Tak story, BJP is going all out to deny any wrong doings pertaining to the same.
On Friday, Aaj Tak aired the story, which captured BJP members distributing social security forms with the BJP’s lotus symbol, and the party name printed on them. The story was based on footage shot through a hidden camera. It showcased BJP members collecting information and asking people to apply for Provident Fund for the unorganized sector. When queried on the same, Sahib Singh Verma had reiterated that there was nothing wrong in the process, and anyone could collect the forms and get them deposited for the government scheme.
As a follow-up to the Aaj Tak story, Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal staged a press conference in Delhi on Sunday wherein the media was shown the footage stating that it amounted to open corruption and was a violation of the model code of conduct. He questioned whether anyone could resort to such practices without authorization from the concerned department. The Congress has raised the question before the Election Commission and its views on the same would be out in a few days.
Speaking on the story TV Today Network CEO G Krishnan states, “We have a role to play as the watchdog to the nation. This expose is part of our ongoing efforts towards transparent and unbiased journalism.”
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:Â 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.
