News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 dominates Bihar election coverage with record viewership
NEW DELHI: While Bihar was busy counting ballots, the rest of India was counting on CNN-News18. The news channel has turned its stunning Bihar election performance into a victory lap of its own, launching a bold front-page print campaign celebrating its dominance during one of the year’s most watched political events. And the numbers tell quite a story.
On 14 November, as the nation held its breath waiting for Bihar’s verdict, CNN-News18 captured an impressive 46.8 per cent market share during the critical counting hours between 7am and noon. To put that in perspective, the channel outperformed its three main rivals: Times Now, NDTV 24×7, and Republic TV – combined. The trio together managed just 44.2 per cent, trailing behind the solo leader.
It’s the kind of performance that makes competitors nervously check their own figures. Times Now and NDTV 24×7 each pulled 16.9 per cent, whilst Republic TV rounded out the rankings at 10.4 per cent. CNN-News18 essentially owned the day.
The channel wasted no time trumpeting its triumph with a clever print campaign headlined ‘When Bihar Was Counting Votes, India Was Counting on CNN-News18’. Confident? Absolutely. But when you’re pulling nearly half the viewership, perhaps you’ve earned the right.
What made viewers flock to CNN-News18 in such numbers? The channel deployed its heavyweight editorial team, including Zakka Jacob, Anand Narasimhan, Rahul Shivshankar, and Shivani Gupta, backed by an extensive ground reporting network across Bihar. The result was the kind of comprehensive, fast-paced coverage that keeps viewers glued during those nail-biting hours when every seat update matters.
Beyond just talking heads, CNN-News18 served up dynamic graphics, detailed explainers, and sharp data breakdowns that made complex electoral trends digestible for everyone, from political junkies to casual observers just wanting to know who won.
The Barc data, which tracked eight channels across India’s 15 plus age group with purchasing power, confirms what the print campaign celebrates: CNN-News18 has cemented itself as India’s go-to destination when elections roll around.
For a channel that promises ‘fast, factual, and first’ information, delivering on that pledge during high-stakes counting hours is where reputations are built or broken. On 14 November, CNN-News18 didn’t just deliver – it dominated, proving once again that when India wants to know what’s happening, they know exactly where to look.
The Bihar results may be history now, but CNN-News18’s commanding performance has set quite the benchmark for future election coverage. One thing’s certain, the competition will be watching those numbers closely, wondering how to close a gap that currently looks rather unbridgeable.
(Source: Barc India | Market: India | TG: 15+ AB | Period: Week 45’25 | Market Share % | 14 Nov, 07:00–12:00 hrs | 8 channels considered.)
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.
