News Broadcasting
Arnab Goswami decries efforts to stop BARC ratings, seeks MIB help
MUMBAI: News Broadcasting Federation (NBF) has sought the urgent intervention of union information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar to prevent vested interests from stopping the publication of TV ratings.
NBF president Arnab Goswami has said in a letter addressed to the minister that there have been attempts made by some vested interests to put pressure via the ministry to stop the publication of ratings measured by BARC at a time when news channels work round the clock in this national effort against COVID-19.
Arnab wrote in the letter: “I am informed that some of these vested interests, who are trying to stop ratings in this period, are doing so to protect their commercial interests, and falsely claiming to represent the news broadcasting industry of India.”
He requested the minister not to allow any such decision or any such communication from MIB or anyone associated with the ministry to BARC. According to him, such a move by vested interests is worrying news broadcasters and taking their attention away from the collective goal of defeating COVID-19, ensuring the lockdown is successful and the country comes through this together.
He warned the minister that if such a move is implemented, it will destroy the news broadcasting industry in India, which is doing an incredible job at this crucial juncture.
“You are aware that the efforts of the news channels have been appreciated by one and all, including the prime minister in his recent video conference with owners and editors of some news channels. In order to continue the effort, which in this period involves creation of informative and relevant news content while covering the entire country at a time when communication and transport is not easy, our hundreds of thousands of professionals are working round the clock, and taking this battle on the frontlines to ensure that COVID 19 is defeated,” Arnab wrote to the minister.
If news channels also face a situation when ratings are stopped, we will be destroyed and our organisations will be at peril, said the NBF president. He reminded the minister that while individual channels or bodies may claim to speak for the news broadcasters, they are only defending their short-term interests.
He also reminded the minister that news broadcasters are completely dependent on publication of TV ratings to run their business. “We are doing committed public service broadcasting in this period of national emergency,” he stated.
The latter has been copied to the relevant authorities at BARC for their information as well.
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.
