News Broadcasting
CNN-IBN appoints MindShare as its media agency
MUMBAI: CNN-IBN has appointed MindShare as its agency of record. MindShare will provide a complete communication solution for the channel, which was launched on 17 December.
CNN-IBN director marketing Dilip Venkatraman said, “We are happy to formally announce MindShare as our media agency. MindShare is known for its expertise and innovative strategies. We would definitely leverage their market expertise to build brand CNN-IBN.”
MindShare South Asia managing director Vikram Sakhuja added, “News is one of the most vibrant sectors in media today. And we are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with CNN-IBN.”
Mindshare New Delhi general manager Sundar Raman added, “At a time when news channels have become large businesses, we are certain that we will be able to build a distinctive media brand in the relatively cluttered news sector.”
Global Broadcast News (GBN), a TV18 Group Company, is a 74:26 joint venture between the TV18 Group and Rajdeep Sardesai, Sameer Manchanda and Haresh Chawla. GBN’s charter is to launch channels in the general news space under the editorial leadership of Sardesai.
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.
