News Broadcasting
CNN to look at India’s economy in a week-long special
MUMBAI: US broadcaster CNN has announced that it will present all shades of the country’s vibrant economy in a dedicated week-long India Programming that airs from 24 -28 November.
With the world mired in an ongoing financial crisis, attention is turning more than ever towards India’s robust economic growth. CNN International brings its global viewers a week of in-depth live programming, India Means Business, that puts the country’s economic fortunes firmly in the spotlight.
Leveraging its three-city strong newsgathering operation in India, combined with CNN’s Asia-Pacific newsgathering resources, India Means Business will examine how the world’s largest democracy is coming of age as a business powerhouse. CNN goes inside the lives and businesses of India’s brightest and most successful entrepreneurs to find out and examine what is driving heir success and failures.
India Means Business is hosted by CNN’s ‘World Business Today’ anchor Andrew Stevens live from India’s financial capital, Mumbai, while CNN is using its India-based team of correspondents to bring reports from around the country; Sara Sidner in Delhi, Mallika Kapur in Mumbai and Liz Neisloss in Chennai. Reports from international destinations including New York, London and Beijing round up the global focus on India.
CNN’s New Delhi bureau chief Phillip Turner said, “The title of our week India Means Business says it all. We are using our three newsgathering centres in India, live programming from around Mumbai and extensive international resources to reveal what drives this unique and diverse economy. The week is perfectly timed to focus on India’s position amidst global economic turmoil as well as spotlight India’s unique business culture.”
‘India Means Business covers a wide rage of topics including India’s retail boom; how the highs and lows of the property market impacts the country’s economy; the fast-paced media industry, the rise of entrepreneurs and how cricket has become a money spinner. The vagaries of the stock exchange and the impetus on infrastructure will also be discussed and analyzed. The week further takes a close look at Indian government’s initiatives to upgrade the country’s famously creaky infrastructure and political system to help keep up the pace of growth in an economy second only to China in its dynamism.
CNN’s global audience in more than 200 countries and territories will have anytime access to ‘India Means Business’ through the dedicated microsite www.cnn.com/india that goes live November 14. The site features video of packages and reports, blogs from CNN’s ‘India Means Business’ reporting team and in-depth stories from Time, CNNMoney and Fortune. The site will also provide exclusive content ranging from ‘India’s changing trade relationship’ to ‘India’s role as a growing automotive player’, by former CNN journalist and specialist on Indian economy, Geoff Hiscock.
The CNN online team also look at the recession-proof business of Mumbai’s famous ‘Dabbawalas’ that has gone online for booking lunches and hears from a unique naked business guru who is CEO of a Chennai fashion company.
Making this special week interactive, CNN’s viewers from around the world will be invited to submit their stories, photographs and videos capturing their impressions on why ‘India Means Business’ through CNN’s innovative i-Report initiative.
India Means Business is co-sponsored by Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, Aditya Birla Group and the Tea Board of India.
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.
