News Broadcasting
BBC launches channels in Africa
MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide Channels will launch a suite of BBC-branded thematic channels in Africa.
The channels will be available via MultiChoice’s DStv platform, Africa’s leading television provider, from 1 September 2008.
iThe new thematic channels – BBC Entertainment, BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies – will replace and build on the success of existing channels BBC Food and BBC Prime.
BBC Worldwide Channels MD Darren Childs said, “Today’s announcement builds on BBC Worldwide channel’s long-term relationship with MultiChoice. In asking us to provide more channels for the platform is testimony to the BBC brand and the quality of our content.”
MultiChoice SA Group CEO Nolo Letele, said: “MultiChoice welcomes the additions of the four new BBC channels, we believe it will contribute to our ongoing commitment of ensuring our customers receive high quality channels from a variety of different genres.”
BBC Knowledge showcases the best of the BBC’s factual and non-fiction entertainment programming. The channel provides five key strands enabling simple appointment viewing: The World delves and explores new cultures around the world; Science and Technology explores new frontiers, from space to motoring; People explores aspects of the human body and mind; The Past brings historical events, places and people back to life; Business offers advice on how to stay on top of today’s challenging business world.
BBC Lifestyle is a destination that looks to offer inspiration for home, family and life. The channel dishes up six tasty strands to entertain engage and inspire viewers. African series, once on BBC Food, will now broadcast in the Food strand.
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.
