News Broadcasting
BBC, Netflix to co-produce shows from disabled creatives
Mumbai: Netflix and the BBC have entered a partnership to develop and fund new, ambitious dramas featuring disabled creatives both in front of and behind the camera.
Building on the existing commitments of both the BBC and Netflix, the five-year partnership has been designed to increase the representation of disabled talent both on-screen and off-screen, to widen the range of stories produced and give disabled writers and creatives greater choice when it comes to the sort of stories they wish to tell.
The partnership will consider projects from the UK producers that have been created or co-created by writers who identify as deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent. All projects are to be created or co-created by such writers. Pitches can draw imaginatively on any genre, precinct or world.
“We are looking for ideas which feel ambitious and elevated and which challenge the limits that the industry might unconsciously put on disability. The intention of the partnership is to firmly place the shows alongside our most talked about and original dramas already being developed,” announced the post on Netflix Newsroom.
All projects will be assessed and developed jointly, but the BBC will be the point of entry for submissions and pitches for the initiative. The BBC and Netflix will issue a creative brief and outline of the process which will be made available to all producers, alongside a webinar.
“Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent creators are some of the least well-represented groups on television in the UK. Put simply, we want to change that fact,” added Netflix VP – series, UK, Anne Mensah. “Together with the BBC, we hope to help these creators to tell the biggest and boldest stories and speak to the broadest possible British and Global audience. It’s been hugely exciting to develop this project with Piers Wenger and the BBC Drama team and we are incredibly passionate about the creative possibilities of this partnership.”
Speaking on the association, BBC director of drama, Piers Wenger said, “Jack’s powerful, memorable MacTaggart has shone a revealing light onto the extent of the challenges faced by disabled creatives. We recognise the need for change and we hope that in coming together the BBC and Netflix have created a funding model which will help level the playing field for deaf, disabled and neurodivergent creators in the UK.”
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: 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.
