News Broadcasting
Chrome Data: Mandela helps Infotainment channels gain OTS
MUMBAI: Last week, the world woke up to the news of the demise of Madiba aka Nelson Mandela. As the world came to terms with the loss of the man who changed and helped shape the history of South Africa, social media and media went berserk.
Leave aside news channels, even the infotainment channels competed with each other to come up with more special segments on the revolutionary-turned-prisoner-turned-president-turned-legendary.
And it shows in week 50’s opportunity to see (OTS) data provided by Chrome Data Analytics & Media which keeps a tab on around 73 million TV homes nationally in analogue cable TV, digital cable TV and DTH. Infotainment channels were the biggest beneficiaries of the week with a gain of 3.6 per cent. Discovery Channel garnered the highest OTS among the players in the segment with its 89.1 per cent on an all India basis.
Close behind was the English movies genre with a 3.3 per cent increase in the eight metros. As most channels gear up to air the biggest blockbusters to wrap up the year, movie buffs aren’t complaining. Sony Pix scored a 88.7 per cent in its OTS during week 50.
Despite India losing to the Proteas in South Africa, sports buffs continued to tune into the action on the greens. The genre did appear in the top four categories with a 2.6 per cent gain. Ten Sports, the channel airing the matches, gained the most with 78.7 per cent OTS across India.
The Delhi election aftermath did catch people’s attention with News channels in the eight metros seeing a jump of 1.9 per cent. Arnab Goswami’s Times Now topped the charts with 91.3 per cent OTS.
As for the bottom four categories, English entertainment channels saw a huge drop of 7.5 per cent in the eight metros. AXN registered 81.8 per cent OTS in the genre while others lagged behind.
Religious channels saw a minor fall in the Hindi speaking market (HSM) at 0.6 per cent. Aastha channel continued to top the genre with a 97.9 per cent OTS. Next in the line was the Hindi movie channel genre which sank 0.3 per cent with Star Gold continuing its golden run in the HSM with its 96.8 per cent OTS.
Hindi News channels in the HSM region too saw a 0.3 per cent fall. Aaj Tak got the highest OTS at 93.6 per cent.
News Broadcasting
WITT Summit 2026 concludes in New Delhi
Babar Azam’s comical diving attempt goes viral as league introduces anti-dew measures.
MUMBAI: The WITT Summit just wrapped up with enough big ideas to fill a policy playbook because when India’s leaders, thinkers and icons gather under one roof, even the conversations hit sixes. The eighth edition of TV9 Network’s flagship What India Thinks Today (WITT) Summit 2026 concluded on Saturday after two days of dynamic discussions at its New Delhi venue. India’s largest multi-domain public policy and culture summit brought together political leaders, policymakers, sports icons, artists and technology innovators to examine the forces shaping contemporary India and its global standing.
Prime minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address on the theme “India and the World” for the third consecutive year. In a wide-ranging speech, he addressed the ongoing conflict in West Asia, calling for restraint and compassion while highlighting India’s continued development trajectory despite global turmoil.
The summit featured candid conversations with state leaders. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy articulated a people-first governance model and contrasted it with other development approaches. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declared that Left-wing extremism had been effectively eliminated in his state and highlighted preparations for the upcoming Kumbh Mela. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann defended his government’s record, citing the closure of 19 toll plazas and creation of the Sadak Suraksha Force. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar expressed confidence in Congress prospects in Assam and addressed recent allegations against him.
On geopolitics and national security, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined India’s ambition to become a builder of trusted digital infrastructure for the world, citing the rapid 5G rollout and village-level 4G connectivity.
Cricket received significant attention. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly praised player freedom and trust as hallmarks of great leadership and named MS Dhoni as the greatest captain due to his World Cup successes. India women’s team bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi credited the BCCI and Women’s Premier League for building a pipeline of world-class talent behind the team’s recent ODI World Cup triumph.
The summit also hosted the inaugural AI² Awards 2026, celebrating the convergence of human creativity and machine intelligence in storytelling and content creation. Poet and kathavachak Kumar Vishwas delivered a nuanced take on India’s concept of Dharma and criticised the recent arrest of an 80-year-old Shankaracharya. Veteran lyricist Sameer Anjaan and storyteller Neelesh Misra reflected on changing music trends and artistic responsibility in the wake of a recent controversy involving Nora Fatehi.
In a country where conversations often run as deep as the Ganges, the WITT Summit proved once again that when leaders, thinkers and storytellers come together, the real winner is public discourse lively, layered and refreshingly unafraid to tackle the big questions shaping India’s tomorrow.
