News Broadcasting
CMM Broadcasting posts slim profits for JQ 2002-3, shifts to PAS-10, reaches the UK
MUMBAI: CMM Broadcasting Network, the company that runs the CMM music channel and faith channel Aastha, has declared a net profit of Rs 2,97,000 for the JQ 2002-3, up a whopping 37 per cent from the figure of Rs 2,17,000 for the corresponding period last year.
Net sales from operations have increased 8 per cent to Rs 12.57 million up from Rs 11.58 million, total income has gone up marginally by 1 per cent from Rs 18.07 million to Rs 17.88 million. The company’s staff costs have risen considerably, from Rs 4,62,000 last year to Rs 7,73,000 in the quarter just ended. But tight control over other expenditure has enabled it to show a rise in its net.
CMM, the company’s digital free to air music channel and Aastha have recently shifted to PAS 10, says the company. Earlier available in 156 countries globally, Aastha and CMM are now available in an additional four countries, the important addition being UK, home probably the largest Indian diaspora.
The changeover will enable CMM Broadcasting Network to fulfill the longstanding demands of Indian-descent UK residents, says the management. Though available as a free-to-air channel there currently, it is slated to become a pay service over time.
PanAmSat’s fleet of spacecraft will also enable Aastha reach viewers in the USA too shortly, says the channel.
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.
