News Broadcasting
Al Gore’s Current TV signs deal with BSkyB
MUMBAI: Former US Vice President Al Gore has unveiled plans to launch a UK version of his ‘user generated’ network, Current TV.
Current has signed an agreement with UK pay TV platform BSkyB to launch a localised version of its viewer-created TV channel in the UK and Ireland.
The announcement was jointly made by Current chairman Al Gore and BSkyB CEO James Murdoch. The agreement provides Current’s first presence outside the US and marks a step in fulfilling its plans of becoming an international media company, while for BSkyB it represents a first step in a strategy to develop a broader presence in the fast-growing field of user-generated content.
Current TV is the first TV network created by, for, and with a young adult audience, enlisting its audience as creative partners. To tailor its output to the local audience, Current plans to deliver a channel specifically designed for the British and Irish markets.
Viewer producers from the UK and Ireland will be able to submit their video segments via Current’s website and, if their work is selected for broadcast, they will also have a chance to have their pieces air on Current’s U.S. network and in other markets into which Current will expand in the future.
Since its launch in August 2005, Current TV claims to have been a pioneer in the world of user-generated content, with its ‘viewer created content’ or VC2, programming model. Rather than a traditional network with primetime shows and “appointment television,” Current offers short-form, nonfiction programming, called “pods,” which are only a few minutes long and which explore the issues of interest to young adults, including technology, fashion, music and videogames, the environment, relationships, spirituality, politics, finance, and parenting. In the US, approximately 30 per cent of the network’s content is created by viewers.
The agreement will allow Current TV to reach up to 22 million more viewers in 8.2 million households subscribing to BSkyB’s Sky digital service, equivalent to almost one in three households in the UK and Ireland. Over the past year Current has expanded its US carriage by 70 per cent from 17 million to nearly 30 million homes.
Gore says, “We are grateful to be working with BSkyB in our first international venture. This is a big step in fulfilling Current’s mission of sparking a global conversation among young adults. Bringing our viewer-created content model to the UK and Ireland will give millions of young viewers the opportunity to not only watch but also to create television programming that is relevant to them. We’re excited about being able to unleash the creativity of young people in the UK and Ireland, enabling them to share their stories with their generational cohort here and around the world.”
Murdoch says, “Current TV is bringing the web’s sense of empowerment to television for the first time. It has a uniquely collaborative approach to working with viewer producers that stands out among other platforms for user-generated video. As a first step towards Sky’s own moves in this fascinating field, we’re pleased to help give a voice to millions of young people throughout the UK and Ireland.”
Murdoch incidentally was one of the first to back Mr Gore’s campaign to persuade big business to face up to green issues. He said the partnership with Current TV was the first step towards the broadcaster, which will make it available free to all its 8.2 million subscribers, launching other user-content initiatives.
Internet networking sites such as MySpace and video sharing services such as YouTube and Google Video have forced broadcasters to learn from them. Political parties have also tried to get in on the act, as with the WebCameron Tory initiative.
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.
