News Broadcasting
BBC to produce tailored content for YouTube, FT reports
LONDON: The BBC is preparing to produce programmes specifically for YouTube for the first time, as the British public broadcaster looks to unlock new revenue streams while audiences drift steadily towards streaming platforms.
According to the Financial Times, the BBC will commission tailored shows for YouTube that will later appear on its own platforms, including iPlayer and BBC Sounds. An announcement could come as early as next week.
The move reflects growing pressure on the licence-fee-funded broadcaster to diversify income without introducing advertising into its domestic services. While the BBC’s UK output remains ad-free, the YouTube partnership would allow advertising to run on programmes viewed outside Britain, with a particular focus on younger audiences.
A small number of older titles may also be made available on YouTube, though these are not expected to be central to the strategy.
The shift comes as YouTube edges ahead of the BBC in Britain’s viewing rankings. In December, YouTube reached 51.9 million UK viewers, narrowly overtaking the BBC’s 50.8 million, according to Barb Audiences.
The development also lands amid legal turbulence for the broadcaster. US President Donald Trump is suing the BBC for at least $10 billion over the editing of footage from a January 6, 2021 speech, a case the corporation has said it will contest.
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.
