News Broadcasting
CNN’s ‘Task’ Group to organise eco-tourism event
MUMBAI: On 7 December 2007, international and Indian personalities in the fields of eco-tourism and conservation will come together at Horizons 2007 – Eco Tourism in New Delhi to discuss ways to develop sustainable eco-tourism in India. Horizons 2007 – Eco Tourism has been organized by CNN’s Task group (Tourism Advertising Solutions and Knowledge), recently launched by CNN’s advertising division.
For the uninitiated, Eco Tourism is environmentally responsible travel to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature that promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local population.
Participating in the event will be the Ministry of Tourism (MOT), Government of India and supported by PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association). The conference aims to stimulate discussions on a timely topic – tourism and related issues – and will seek to provide insight and learnings, based on successful models and best practices, both in India and globally.
Horizons 2007 – Eco Tourism will draw on the expertise of some of people who work in the field of sustainable tourism growth. These include Climate Change expert Prof. Ian Swingland; policy advisor Lisa Choegyal; International zoo expert Bernard Harrison; Managing Director of Jetwing Hotels, Hiran Cookay; herpetologist, wildlife conservationist and founder of the Madras Snake Park, The Andaman and Nicobar Environment Trust (ANET), the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Romulus Whittaker and renowned travel journalist and author, Yeoh Siew Hoon.
Representing the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India will be the Union Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni, Secretary S Bannerjee and Joint Secretary Leela Nandan.
Turner International India VP, ad sales India and South Asia Monica Tata said, “With the rapid growth of the Indian Tourism industry over the last few years, this is the right time to plan future strategies that will balance tourism growth and environment conservation. The Task Group has brought together an experienced panel to debate, discuss and deliberate on effective solutions, necessary to successfully implement eco tourism and sustainable tourism in India.”
Leveraging the expertise of the panellists, the forum will dwell on how responsible and strategic tourism initiatives will offer benefits to future generations. Some of the key sessions on the agenda include a case study on a country that has implemented a successful ecotourism model; eco labelling and the importance of marketing and a peek into the evolved, ecologically sensitive traveller of tomorrow. A white paper will be formulated from the deliberations and policy discussions of the conference that will then be shared with the Ministry of Tourism for implementation.
The Task Group is a fully complimentary client service comprising a team of external experts working closely with CNN, who focus on building partnerships with clients to create impactful solutions for their tourism strategies. The Group offers clients best of breed advice, information and intelligence to significantly enhance their nation and brand building efforts. The Group is the first service of its kind in the international television marketplace.
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: 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.
