News Broadcasting
After ‘SMS’, Paresh Raval has three more shows in the pipeline
, Paresh Rawal has added another feather to his cap. The veteran actor has turned TV producer. His first offering as producer is a tri-weekly laugh riot-Shubh Mangal Savadhan that starts telecast from 15 July on Sahara TV.
Apart from this sitcom, Rawal’s Playtime Creation is also working on three other projects – a soap, a religious thriller and another comedy. All these projects are likely to be on air in the next one year, Rawal says. Gradually, the company also plans to foray into tele films and then films. But isn’t the company being overly ambitious, given the state of the industry? “Well turning TV producer was no doubt, a tougher experience than my struggle to make it as an actor,” Rawal says, only half in jest.
At a press conference called to launch the serial, the veteran actor was at his witty best.
Asked why he chose marriage as the topic of his first serial, Raval replied: “Shaadi has got maximum spice compared to any other event.” But then why is he cautioning people – Savadhan – against marriage? “Well, I felt it was my responsibility to caution people against treading the path we took and suffered,” Raval replied.
Raval’s fans will however be disappointed to know that he will not be starring in the serial as he feels his present movie commitments will not allow him sufficient time to act in TV serials.
On his choice of Sahara TV, Raval said it was a rapidly growing channel that had been immensely receptive and supportive to them.
Playtime also started a trend of sorts by also launching the website devoted exclusively to the serial – www.smsthecomedy.com
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.
