News Broadcasting
BBC, Radio Independents Group agree new terms for the UK
MUMBAI: The BBC and the Radio Independents Group (RIG) have agreed new Terms of Trade for commissioning radio programming from independents.
The new terms apply to all programmes commissioned from independent producers since 7 December 2004, when the BBC published a draft framework for the revised terms, based on discussions with the sector. The key points of the new terms of trade are:
– Independents will own all rights (including copyright) in the programmes they produce.
– The BBC will take a licence to use programming across its networks for a period of ten years and to exercise public service new media rights.
– For all programming except comedy, drama and specialist music, there will be an automatic “break clause” after five years if the BBC no longer intends to exercise public service rights in the programme.
– The BBC will be able to extend its licence for a further five years, and on an ongoing basis for long running commissions.
– The BBC will be entitled to a share of net profit arising from the exploitation of all rights in the programming. BBC Radio and Music director Jenny Abramsky said, “We are delighted that the new terms have been agreed. We have been in consultation with the industry since December 2004 to ensure that the new deal structure was fair and represented the interests of both parties.”
RIG chairman Mike Hally said, “We are delighted to have been able to represent the industry so effectively in our first year of existence. It has involved a lot of patient work – and some hard bargaining – on both sides, but the BBC team have engaged positively and constructively with us and the results amply justify the effort. Both our members and the BBC will benefit from what we are all agreed is a fair deal that consigns the ‘all rights’ contracts to history.”
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.
