News Broadcasting
Copy-right vs right: Who can stop Arnab from using ‘nation wants to know’
MUMBAI: Editor-turned-Republic TV entrepreneur Arnab Goswami now says that he has been served a legal notice by his former employer Times Group for using the phrase — ‘nation wants to know’ on his Republic TV venture. The phrase was common on Newshour on Times Now till Arnab quit on 1 November 2016.
Sources associated with Republic TV said test runs for the channel’s May launch are in progress. Goswami’s frequent interviews across various media was a run-up to the launch, they said.
In an audio clip on YouTube, Goswami claimed that he has been served with another ‘legal threat’ for using the aforestated phrase. In the clip, Goswami said that the threat of imprisonment would not deter him and that he has been using the phrase for the last 20 years throughout his journalism career. Goswami became closely associated with the phrase during his tenure at Times Now.
“ARG Outliers (Republic TV) had filed for trademark for these and similar phrases which were already filed for and extensively used for years by Times Now. We have responded with a standard caution notice. He (Arnab) is just trying to gain soundbytes from it,” Times Network said in an emailed communication to the media.
Goswami added in the clib: “I have watched the nervous antics of this media group with amusement and horror for the last few months. Today, I am replying to them in public.” To them I say: The threat of imprisonment will not deter me. Bring your money bags and your lawyers. File the criminal case against me for using the phrase ‘nation wants to know’. Do everything you can. Spend all the money you have. Arrest me. I am waiting right now, on my studio floor. The phrase ‘nation wants to know’ belongs to you, me and to all of us. To every citizen of this country.”
Arnab has alleged that his team members had been harassed and threatened with “untoward action”, and that this media group’s aim had been to stall and delay the launch of Republic.
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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.
