News Broadcasting
CNN International may extend its brand name in the Indian market
NEW DELHI: CNN International, part of the Time Warner group, today said that the news channel is open to extending its brand name in the local (Indian) market, but has no immediate plans as of now, according to a senior company executive.
“We are open to the idea of extending our brand name in the local market and have talked to a variety of players. But as of now, I have no announcements to make,” CNN International MD Chris Cramer said here today when asked whether CNN is looking at having an Indian version of the 24-hour global news channel.
Cramer, along with Oberoi Hotels and Resorts deputy MD Vikram Oberoi, was announcing the details of an India-specific programme, called Eye on India, which will be on air from 4-12 September and focus on the world’s largest democracy and its rapidly changing role in the global political and business environment.
Oberoi Hotels is the presenting sponsor for the series, which will be hosted by some well-known CNN anchors like Jim Clancy and also feature Indian personalities like biotech queen and head of Biocon, Kiran Shaw Mazumdar and Bollywood star, Shah Rukh Khan.
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.
