News Broadcasting
ABC News’ journalist Ted Koppel to open Promax&BDA ’05 seminar
MUMBAI: The upcoming Promax & BDA conference, slated for 21 -23 June at the New York Marriott Marquis, has invited ABC News broadcast journalist Ted Koppel to open the edition of the conference, it was announced by Promax & BDA CEO Jim Chabin.
At the a super on 22 June session that will feature other orators such as NBC Jeff Zucker, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Ron Reagan, Electronic Arts Bing Gordon, Microsoft J Allard, and G4 Charles Hirschhorn, all on one stage besides Ted Koppel.
The 40-year veteran of ABC News, Koppel was named anchor of Nightline when the broadcast was first introduced in March 1980. Koppel is the principal on-air reporter and interviewer for television’s first late-night network news program in addition to serving as the program’s managing editor, states a media release.
“We are pleased to present this lineup of high caliber speakers who are sure to leave a lasting impression on our membership,” said Chabin. “From start to finish, this year’s Promax will present an impressive lineup of top speakers and panels designed to help local promotional managers and graphic artists produce winning campaigns in an increasingly fragmented and complicated media world.”
TVLand/Nick at Nite president and general manager Larry Jones and OLN’s CEO and president Gavin Harvey are among the senior cable executives to participate at this year’s Promax&BDA conference.
The other speakers at the sessions include HBO president documentary and family programming Sheila Nevins, ESPN and ABC Sports president and Disney Media Networks co-chairman George Bodenheimer, to name a few.
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.
