News Broadcasting
CNN to rebrand two news shows
MUMBAI: News broadcaster CNN International has announced that from 1 March it will rebrand two of its Hong Kong based shows. News Biz Today will be replaced with CNN Today while World News Asia will replace Asia Now.
CNN Today will air from 4:30 am to 8 am everyday, while World News Asia will air at 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm daily. CNN Today will continue to be co-anchored by Stan Grant and Kristie Lu Stout. The content will consist of the rolling three and a half hour business and news programming with live breaking news from across the region and around the world. World News Asia will be co-anchored by Veronica Pedrosa and Andrew Stevens who will bring live updates to global viewers of the top news stories of the day in each one-hour programme.
A company release states that the changes reflect independent research and viewer feedback, creating more consistency across CNN’s international programming schedules. CNN Intl senior VP Rena Golden added, “The programme developments further define CNN as the leading international news provider, building upon the very strong relationship with the network’s audience in addition to providing an even stronger platform for advertisers. CNN continues to evolve and as a part of that the network has seen fit to re-brand its key news programmes to meet audience demands. We pride ourselves on our reputation of relevance to the audience.”
The new schedule gives CNN the framework to fulfill its commitment to landmark programming on the year’s key elections, the ongoing story in Iraq, and the Olympics, among others, as well as provide a broad, timely, regional-relevant focus of stories on the day’s news, finance and sport so that viewers are comprehensively prepared for the day’s business ahead.
Meanwhile another show Business Central has been renamed Business International which will air at 1:30 pm.
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.
