News Broadcasting
B’cast Bill: Film censor board chief seeks clarifications
NEW DELHI: Indian film censor board chief and veteran actress Sharmila Tagore today exhorted the government to remove overlaps in the functioning of censor board and a proposed broadcast regulator.
She also called for “transparency” while forming the proposed Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India (Brai).
“There has to be some sort of uniformity at some level… and identify where there are some overlaps,” Tagore, chairperson of the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC), was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying.
She, along with some other government officials and industry representatives were participating in a day-long seminar on the draft ‘Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill – 2006’, which was organized by industry chamber Assocham.
Tagore’s apprehensions stems from the fact that the censor board and the proposed Brai might end up doing similar works like certifying content for television channels.
In the absence of a regulatory body, the government has mandated that only `U’ (or for unrestricted viewing) censor certified films promos, music videos and songs should be aired on TV music channels.
Information and broadcasting secretary S K Arora assured the industry gathering that the government was open to suggestions and comments on the proposed Brai and the Bill.
“The government is open to suggestions and can incorporate fresh ideas and issues we may have omitted (earlier in a draft that was readied for the Cabinet),” he said.
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.
