News Broadcasting
CNN goes the Thai way
MUMBAI: CNN has announced a series of specials later this month that will focus on popular tourist destination Thailand.
Anchor/correspondent Lian Pek talks to business leaders and entrepreneurs and examines various business stories from inside the country from 14 to 18 October, in a series of special reports. The topics range from pizzas, the country’s film industry to the threat of music piracy.
On 14 October, Copyright Fee Controversy take centrestage. The land of the pirated CD in Thailand is struggling to come to terms with paying copyright fees as some of the country’s biggest music companies vow to collect fees from entertainment businesses that use their recordings. The Thai government has also been lobbied to set up a one-stop collection center. CNN will examine this controversial collection drive in this special report.
Pizza Warrior airs on 15 October. A longtime foreign investor in Thailand, Bill Heinecke is in charge of the Minor Group, which used to have a decades-old relationship with Pizza Hut. Heinecke discusses his vision on doing business in the country and his newly set up pizza chain, Pizza Company.
The next day Challenging CEOs features an interview with the Chairman and CEO of the C.P. Group – Dhanin Chearavanont. He is Thailands leading agri-businessman, who made this year’s Forbes list of billionaires.
New Karaoke Trend sees Pek looking into the latest karaoke trend in Thailand. Coin-operated booths in department stores are getting more popular, making karaoke as much a daytime activity as a nighttime activity. The new phenomenon is filling the gap between the upmarket lounges and roadside foodstalls with karaoke facilities. CNN takes a close look at how this business is flourishing.
The programmes end with Thai Film Industry Revival on 18 October. The revival of the Thai film industry in recent years is encouraging entertainment companies to invest more in local productions. Some of these productions are earning international recognition. In this special report, CNN looks at the health of the film industry in Thailand.
The shows air on News Biz Today: Monday to Friday at 6 am (live) as well as Biz Asia: Monday to Friday at 7:30 pm (live), with repeats at 9 pm Hong Kong time.
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.
