News Broadcasting
Breaking News18 tops charts with highest hindi news viewership
MUMBAI: Mic drop in the newsroom News18 India has just dialled up the decibels and claimed top honours in the Hindi news genre. According to the latest BARC data (Week 20’25), News18 India has emerged as the most-watched Hindi news channel, notching up 119124 AMA’000s and pulling ahead of long-time rival Aaj Tak, which recorded 117819 AMA’000s. The numbers are part of a fierce race in the Hindi-speaking markets (HSM), where channels jostle for attention 24×7.
Rounding out the top five are TV9 Bharatvarsh (103286 AMA’000s), Republic Bharat (93207), and Zee News (87641). (Source: BARC | Metric: AMA’000s | TG: NCCS All 15 plus | Period: Week 20’25, 24 Hours, All Days | Market: HSM)
What’s fuelling this newsroom juggernaut? A combination of hard-hitting reportage, high-decibel debates, and a trusted team of anchors including Kishore Ajwani, Amish Devgan, Rubika Liyaquat, Prateek Trivedi, and Aman Chopra. The channel’s programming dives deep into issues that matter, delivering perspectives that resonate with viewers from every corner of the country.
News18 India attributes its continued rise to “factual, credible, and accurate coverage” qualities that seem to be striking a chord with the increasingly discerning Hindi news audience.
Backed by an extensive on-ground reporter network, the channel ensures it’s not just first with the news, it’s everywhere the news is. From political showdowns to ground reports, News18 India is holding the mic and the momentum.
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.
