News Broadcasting
CNN wins award at IBC for digital newsgathering
MUMBAI: The International Broadcasting Conference (IBC) in Amsterdam recently honoured CNN’s digital newsgathering operations with two of its IBC Innovation awards, including a ‘Judges’ Prize’ for the top innovation of the past year.
CNN’s digital newsgathering also won for Content Creation, an award that cited the network’s use of such an innovation for its coverage of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in July 2006.
CNN Intl MD Tony Maddox says, “This is an amazing tribute to CNN’s often unsung heroes – our technical and satellite crews – whose ingenuity and tenacity in getting the job done shines through everyday at CNN,” said , managing director for .
In presenting the awards, IBC judges recognised CNN for opening a new chapter in the use of technology in newsgathering through the use of lightweight kits that combine cameras, editing tools and advanced satellite and Internet communications technology into a laptop-based system. This suite of new technologies enable journalists to employ immediate live and video FTP submissions, real-time content monitoring, editing and voice communication from anywhere in the field.
Jury chairman for the conference Mike Lumley says, “This is exactly the sort of project that deserves recognition. A major broadcaster had a clear idea of what it wanted to achieve and brought together a team of technical partners to make it happen. In a particularly strong field of entries this year, it was never going to be easy to pick a Judges’ Prize, but this is a most worthy winner.”
For coverage of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, CNN’s anchors broadcast mainly from various locations in the region using conventional uplink dishes allowing correspondents file live reports in remote areas using portable transmission gear they fit into backpacks. At the height of coverage, CNN had deployed about 90 journalists with programmes such as Anderson Cooper 360°, American Morning, The Situation Room, Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer and This Week at War all originating from the region. The result of this innovative approach took the story directly to the viewers from multiple angles as it unfolded.
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.
