News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 wraps up the year with a special programming lineup
NEW DELHI: CNN-News18, one of the leading national English news channel has kept the engagement and entertainment quotient high throughout 2020 with the best of shows in the most interesting and unique format. As India prepares to bid adieu to the year that 2020 was, CNN-News18 plans to usher in the New Year with a series of specials that will wrap up the year gone by.
Keeping viewers at the core of its content strategy, CNN-News18 is back with another edition of ‘The Bollywood Roundtables’ – an award-winning year-end series that features India’s finest actors, actresses, and directors. Hosted by Shilpa Rathnam, this year’s entertainment series will witness candid and eye-opening conversations with guests who delivered the best performances in 2020. The Actors’ Roundtable will feature Divyenndu (Mirzapur 2), Ritwik Bhowmik (Bandish Bandits), Jaideep Ahlawat (Paatal Lok), Ishaan Khatter (A Suitable Boy), and Pratik Gandhi (Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story) who will discuss how their life changed post each of their successful OTT debuts and how 2020 was a game-changer for the entertainment industry. CNN-News18 will also showcase ‘The Year That Wasn’t’, a year-end episode of the weekly show that will effectively encapsulate the year 2020 by bringing its viewers the best from all facets of the society.
Apart from this, ‘The Bollywood Roundtable – The Actresses’ witnessed Konkona Sensharma (Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare), Sumukhi Suresh (Pushpavalli), Shweta Tripathi (Mirzapur 2), Tillotama Shome (Sir), Maanvi Gagroo (Four More Shots Please! Season 2), Aparna Balamurali (Soorarai Pottru), Shreya Dhanwanthary (Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story), and Rasika Dugal (Mirzapur 2). The artists opened up about their year in the Bollywood and their work, what changed in the film industry post the #Metoo movement, the lack of women directors in the film industry, and pay parity. The channel also showcased a Christmas special of their popular show ‘The Week That Wasn’t’. Anchored by Cyrus Broacha, the programming featured a special Christmas song and a satirical showcase on how people are celebrating a pandemic-era festive season.
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.
