News Broadcasting
Australia Network looks to expand reach into India
MUMBAI: Global satellite services communciations provider Intelsat has announced that Australia Network, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s international television channel, has renewed its multi-year contract with Intelsat.
It has expanded the contract to include transmission services on an additional satellite.Using the Intelsat global system, Australia Network will now be able to distribute programming beyond its existing Asia-Pacific footprint to reach new viewers in the cable neighborhoods of the South Asian region served by Pas-10 and to be positioned for additional access into new markets such as India and the Middle East.
Under the terms of the new agreement, Intelsat will also provide Australia Network with turnaround services from its leased teleport facilities in Singapore. Prior to this contract, Australia Network only had available a single time feed. Intelsat’s enhanced fleet and teleport facilities now enable the broadcaster to transmit its programming in three prime time feeds covering the Pacific island nations, Asian land mass and South Asia regions.
Australia Network CEO Ian Carroll says, “As Australia Network was seeking wider distribution in the region, we needed a service provider that would enable us to accomplish multiple business goals with one turnkey offering, and Intelsat provided that solution. Our long-standing relationship with Intelsat was enhanced with the inclusion of PAS-10 transmission services into the South Asia markets and we look forward to continued growth of this relationship.”
Intelsat regional VP, Asia-Pacific, David Ball said, “For Intelsat, helping our customers achieve their strategic business goals is top priority. With respect to Australia Network, our solution is unique in the market and showcases Intelsat’s regional strength for video distribution through its expanded satellite fleet and terrestrial infrastructure. We are proud that Australia Network is entrusting us to transmit its programming into these new markets.”
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.
