News Broadcasting
CNN-IBN and IBN7 to air specials in ‘Vote on Account’
NEW DELHI: CNN-IBN and IBN7 will air a detailed analysis of ‘Vote on Account’ in the special week-long programming Budget before Ballot and Budget @ Elections.
The programmes scrutinise the Interim Budget presented by the government. Says IBN18 Network editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai, “As the government presents the Vote on Account before the General Elections, we bring the special programming that covers the entire proceedings of the Parliament along with an in-depth analysis with eminent experts.”
A pre-budget half-hour show on 15 February will be telecast on CNN-IBN which will review the various sectors of the economy by discussing and anticipating the announcements the government might make in the Parliament the following day.
Additionally on 15 February at 9:30 pm, IBN7 will showcase Budget @ Elections – a studio-based program with representatives from both urban and rural India highlighting their expectations from the Budget. The demands of people will be assimilated in the Citizens’ Demand Charter and will be presented to the Finance Minister.
And on 16 February, CNN-IBN will bring live coverage from the Parliament and discuss the Budget with eminent economists. At 10 pm, the channel will air a show featuring key opinion makers of Indian economy like Yashwant Sinha and Sitaram Yechury to analyse the Interim Budget and its impact on the common man.
IBN7 will also cover the Budget presented in the Parliament live which will be later followed by the second episode of Budget @ Election’ at 8:30 pm. This will review the Budget and analyse the state of the Indian economy during the time of recession and the challenges that lie ahead, with experts joining the discussion in the studio.
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.
