News Broadcasting
Al Jazeera English in pact with Hong Kong Cable
MUMBAI: News channel Al Jazeera English has announced a new deal with one of Asia’s leading cable operators, Hong Kong Cable for the channel to broadcast in Hong Kong. Al Jazeera will debut on Hong Kong Cable on 16 January 2008, and will be carried as Channel 34 on the platform.
The channel claims to reach over 100 million households worldwide. Al Jazeera English says that it is dedicated to building its presence across Asia to give viewers access to its content. The channel’s editorial mission to transform global news is supported in Asia by its Kuala Lumpur Broadcast Centre, dozens of Asian bureaus and correspondents that include household names such as news anchors Veronica Pedrosa and Teymoor Nabili.
Hong Kong Cable executive director Benjamin Tong says, ” News has always been our flagship programme and the addition of Al Jazeera will further enhance the width and depth of our news service with the channel’s unique content and perspective. I have little doubt that the channel will be welcomed by our viewers.” Al Jazeera English also has a dedicated page on YouTube.
Al Jazeera Network’s director of global distribution Phil Lawrie said, “We are excited about reaching a sizeable new audience in this important market and working with an established and industry-leading partner. This agreement underlines the importance of the Asian region to our next phase of growth, and we are looking forward to a long and highly successful relationship with Hong Kong Cable.”
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.
