News Broadcasting
Binoy Prabhakar takes charge as chief content officer at Firstpost
NEW DELHI: According to media reports, Firstpost has appointed senior journalist Binoy Prabhakar as its new chief content officer, bringing seasoned editorial expertise on board as the digital news platform embarks on its next phase of growth.
Prabhakar joins from Hindustan Times, where he spent nearly three years as chief content officer, shaping editorial strategy and guiding content for a rapidly evolving digital audience.
Earlier, he served as editor at Moneycontrol and CNBCTV18.com, and spent over a decade at The Economic Times in senior editorial roles. His career also includes leadership positions at Network18, The Indian Express and The Times of India.
A fellow of the Tow Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism in New York, Prabhakar combines newsroom experience with a keen understanding of digital storytelling.
At Firstpost, he is expected to strengthen editorial depth, sharpen the platform’s voice, and drive content innovation as readers increasingly look for clarity in a crowded news landscape.
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.
