News Broadcasting
BBC announces its biggest-ever search for quiz show talent
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has announced its biggest-ever search for quiz show talent in the UK to take part in a series – The National Lottery People’s Quiz.
Throughout January 2007, Jamie Theakston, William G Stewart, Kate Garraway and Myleene Klass will be hosting open auditions across the UK to search for undiscovered quiz show talent.
Theakston says, “It’s certainly one of the most exciting shows I’ve ever worked on. For the first time the whole nation can compete against each other to find out who is the best quizzer in the country.”
There are 200,700 chances to take part and contestants must answer ten general knowledge questions correctly in a row to get through to the next round. Pass through the next three rounds successfully and one could be the guaranteed winner.
In a twist, every question for the initial heats will be published in advance of the auditions, allowing everyone in the UK to test their general knowledge and polish their quiz show skills.
Questions are available now at bbc.co.uk/peoplesquiz for potential contestants to start practicing their general knowledge.
But with hundreds of thousands of questions on subjects ranging from Posh and Becks to party politics, only the very brightest will make it through to the final and the chance to win a cash prize.
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.
