News Broadcasting
Animal Planet US’ reality event going from strength to strength
MUMBAI: Animal Planet has managed to build up viewer cachet in the US through its King Of The Jungle reality themed initiative. This has seen wannabe anchors getting tailed by a 300-pound tiger, coming face-to-face with vipers and pythons.
The winner of the contest will be revealed on 15 December in a two hour special. An official release informs that on 13 October nearly two million viewers tuned in to the shows premiere episode. It had begun with 12 nature experts from all walks of life competing for the title and the chance to host a wildlife special of their own.
Now just three finalists remain. Come 15 December they will have to deliver a TV-ready presentation about three exotic animals — without any preparation. The broadcaster has built the event as a true test of expertise, poise and personality.
After that their physical tenacity and animal handling skills will be tested to the limit. Each finalist must master a grueling series of sky-high obstacles and rescue a feisty alligator. This will see one person getting eliminated. Then a couple of Bengal tigers will enter the picture. The two participants will have to deliver a presentation in this dangerous situation without losing their cool.
On 22 December a winners special will air. The winner will handle and help transport alligators to a new habitat in Miami. This time nothing will keep the predator’s jaws shut but the winner’s own skill and agility. The new host will have to travel to the banks of the Mara River in Kenya where hungry crocodiles cleverly shadow their prey.
The special will be produced for Animal Planet by BBC Wildvision.
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.
