News Broadcasting
Broadband Communications and NDS get together for digital CAS solutions
Broadband Communications Sector and NDS, a News Corp company and a leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay TV, say they will combine select products to offer cost- effective digital interactive television platforms to the global market.
As part of the deal, Motorola will offer the NDS iTV and conditional access solutions as an optional feature of Motorola’s DVi1000 and DVi3500 DVB-based interactive digital set-tops. These solutions include NDS’s Open VideoGuard(TM) conditional access solution, Core(TM) middleware, XTV(TM) personal video recorder (PVR) technology and various Value@TV(TM) iTV applications. In addition, Motorola will also offer the Ikonic+(TM) Interactive Programming Guide.
According to an official release, the two companies are developing a DVB Simulcrypt capability with NDS’s Open VideoGuard(TM) conditional access solution, which will enable Motorola’s MediaCipher(R) conditional access technology and NDS to work together in a single system.
The new Motorola DVi1000 set-top is an enhanced-broadcast, digital-cable platform that can be deployed at a comparable price point as an analog cable set-top, while delivering more programming channels and the subscriber benefits that come with digital cable. In addition to receiving high-quality digital cable broadcasts, subscribers with a DVi1000 set-top benefit from an expanded channel line-up, superior user interface, and telco-return for impulse pay-per-view (PPV).
The Motorola DVi3500 set-top is a low-cost, advanced-interactive DVB-compliant digital decoder with an integrated EuroDOCSIS modem. The DVi3500 digital cable set-top can be deployed at a comparable price point as a typical advanced analog cable set-top — while delivering more programming channels and subscriber benefits.
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.
