News Broadcasting
Chris Charlton is BBC Worldwide head intl communications
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide has appointed former BBC New Media and Technology communications manager, Chris Charlton, as the new head of international communications. He takes up this post next month.
Reporting to BBC Worldwide director of communications Alison Jeremy, Charlton will manage a team of seven, and be responsible for communications for BBC Worldwide’s International TV channels and global TV sales divisions. He will also provide international support to communications teams around the rest of the business.
He joins BBC Worldwide from BBC Marketing Communications and Audiences, where he was responsible for the communications around the BBC’s New Media and Technology portfolio and pan-platform initiatives across BBC Television, as well as the profile of senior BBC executives in these areas.
In addition to working with BBC New Media director, Ashley Highfield, Charlton was responsible for the communications of the launch of the BBC’s first foray into interactive television, and played a role during the UK Government’s two-year review of the BBC’s online services.
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.
