News Broadcasting
bbcshop.com reports a 40 per cent rise in X’mas sales
MUMBAI: With online retail sales booming this Christmas, UK pubcaster The BBC’s own retailer, bbcshop.com is already reporting a 40 per cent increase in sales compared to the same time last year – with Shakespeare leading the way.
The number one bestseller by value of all titles on the site so far is the BBC Television Shakespeare Collection on DVD. Titles that have done well during the past month include the 10th anniversary DVD of Pride & Prejudice; the audiobook version of Radio 4’s This Sceptred Isle: Empire; and Alan Titchmarsh’s Christmas anthology book, Fill My Stocking.
Toys are selling well too. Number one on the toys bestseller list is the Doctor Who mini interactive radio-controlled Dalek with the Doctor Who electronic sonic screwdriver a close second .
A banner on the bbc shop homepage takes users straight to the Christmas Gift Department which offers reasonably priced gifts at all prices. The shop also runs a gift-wrapping service and orders are despatched immediately, with 98 per cent arriving at their destination on the next working day.
There are some price promotions for Christmas this year, including classic BBC costume drama DVDs on offer at up to 50 per cent off, and a buy one get one free offer on selected Doctor Who DVDs. The BBC online shop carries 4,000 items published by both BBC Worldwide and other publishers of broadcast-related roducts.
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.
