News Broadcasting
ADAE to create radio division named Adlabs Radio Pvt Ltd
MUMBAI: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises (ADAE) has finally created a radio division for its FM radio foray and has sought government clearance for the same.
The radio division of Adlabs Films, which bagged FM radio licences in several cities of India and is one of the bigger players in the arena, will be called Adlabs Radio Pvt Ltd.
However, a brand name under which Adlabs Radio will run the FM radio services has not been decided yet.
According to sources in the information and broadcasting ministry, the proposal is “under routine examination”.
Adlabs Radio Pvt Ltd is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) created by ADAE for its radio business, while the corporate entity and the official licencee continues to be Adlabs Films Ltd.
The SPV has been created for a focussed approach on the radio business as Adlabs Films concentrates more on the business of running multiplexes and post-production film facilities.
Under the licencing agreement, licences are not transferable after being formally awarded to a company.
In the recently-concluded bidding process for FM licences, the government has allowed foreign investment up to 20 per cent in radio ventures, but such deals had to be concluded before the bids were opened in the first week of February.
Moreover, no change in shareholding pattern is allowed, under the guidelines, for the first five years of the 10-year licence period.
The Anil Ambani controlled Adlabs Films has won 57 frequencies across the country, but had to surrender 12 stations to adhere to another norm, which mandates no single company can own more than 15 per cent of the total number of frequencies put up for sale throughout the country.
Adlabs Films’ scrip opened on Wednesday at Rs 403 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and touched a high of Rs 409 and a low of Rs 395 during the trading day.
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.
