News Broadcasting
CNBC Asia Pacific facelifts its weekend programming with CNBC Life
MUMBAI: CNBC is strengthening its weekend programming in Asia Pacific with twelve-hour weekend ‘lifestyle’ block called CNBC Life.
Beginning from 20 September, CNBC Life will feature 12 hours of programming, covering six different genres like travel, luxury lifestyle, sports, entertainment, personal finance and current affairs, every weekend from 12 pm to 12 am.
The new block will commission a series of special segments as well as documentaries.
“The re-launch of our business day programming last year reinforced our position as being the premier business resource, appealing to our elite audience of business professionals, opinion leaders and affluent individuals,” said CNBC Asia Pacific director of news and programming John Casey. “Our ratings increased in measured regions, like Singapore and Australia, our online content has doubled the number of page hits in the last year, our mobile content has won an award, and our business day programming has won awards and commendations.”
Casey added, “The non business day programming strategy is to complement our business day programming. During the business day, we show our viewers how to make and protect their wealth. Our non business day programs will focus on how best to spend and enjoy it.”
CNBC Life ‘Travel and Leisure’ will feature four hours of executive travel program each weekend. CNBC Life ‘Luxury’ will have half-hour episodes produced by The Luxury Channel. It will offer programming golf resorts and elite boutique hotels to real estate and choice art.
The CNBC Life ‘Personal Finance’ segment will be anchored by Suze Orman. She will tell her audience, how to make the most of their money, and to protect their wealth during turbulent times.
In the CNBC Life ‘Current Affairs’ block, the latest topical business programming from CNBC Asia including Managing Asia, The Leaders, World Business and CNBC Specials will be aired. Meanwhile, CNBC Life ‘Entertainment’ will air the best episodes of the week from the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
In CNBC Life ‘Sports’, the channel will air some of the best sporting events from around the world each Saturday and Sunday.
CNBC Asia Pacific has also commissioned its first full length documentary – Wheels of Change, hosted by CNBC Tokyo bureau chief, Kaori Enjoji. The documentary illustrates how Toyota, Nissan and Honda are pioneering the path towards electric-powered transportation – investing not only in vehicles but also the batteries and potentially the infrastructure to support this major paradigm shift.
The network also has commissioned a series of special segments including Protecting Your Wealth (during these turbulent economic times), Going For Gold (the Olympic series), Islamic Banking and Track Side (Singapore Formula 1).
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.
