News Broadcasting
COVID-19 boon: News channels show 300% viewership growth
MUMBAI: The lockdown amid COVID-19 may adversely impact businesses, but it has helped the television industry, especially the news segment, to achieve a new high in terms of viewership, says a report released by Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) and Nielsen on crisis consumption.
According to the report, news genre has clocked around 300 per cent increase in terms of viewership across the general category (English, Hindi and regional). Whereas, the business news channels in both Hindi and English languages have risen by 180 per cent in viewership.
The report also points out that while the primetime consumption of news across the country has surged by over 250 per cent, non-prime time news slot saw a rise of 344 per cent in terms of viewership. However, perhaps, for the first time, there has been a drop of over 15 per cent in viewership in general entertainment channels during the primetime slot.
Be it prime time or non-prime time, the overall growth of news channels across languages have seen a substantial rise of over 20 per cent from 7 per cent during the Covid-19 lockdown, mentions the report.
These growth figures of news channels and all other genres are recorded in week 12 of BARC (21-27 March) when compared with week two and four of BARC (11-31 January).
The country is grappling with the rising COVID-19 pandemic. During these testing times, people are consuming more news than any other genre because it keeps them updated about the virus menace and other related information such as the number of cases, do’s and don’ts and various governments’ initiative to curb the pandemic.
Many tech events, sports matches, shootings of films and television shows have stopped and the whole content generation process has come to a standstill, except for the news genre, which has been coming up with Covid-19-related content on a time-to-time basis, as it has been kept under the essential services list.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Fury in the Gulf conclave on West Asia crisis
Three-hour summit to unpack geopolitical fallout and impact on India
MUMBAI: CNN-News18 is set to host a special three-hour broadcast, Fury in the Gulf – War Conclave, on April 7, aiming to decode the escalating West Asia crisis and its far-reaching implications for India.
Scheduled from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, the conclave comes at a time when tensions between Iran and the United States are reshaping global geopolitics and triggering economic uncertainty. With India’s deep energy ties, trade links and large diaspora in the Gulf, the developments carry significant domestic relevance.
Built around the theme ‘Conflict, Consequences, and The Future,’ the programme will feature six curated sessions combining one-on-one interviews and panel discussions. The focus is to cut through the clutter and offer viewers a clearer understanding of the fast-evolving situation.
Key sessions include ‘Diplomacy in Times of War’ featuring Shashi Tharoor, and ‘World After the Iran Conflict’ with voices such as Ram Madhav, Reuven Azar, representatives from the European Union and the Iranian Deputy Envoy. Another session titled ‘Another Dunkirk?’ will bring together K. J. S. Dhillon and Jitin Prasada among others.
CNN-News18 editorial affairs director Rahul Shivshankar said, “In times of war, clarity becomes the most powerful tool. Fury in the Gulf – War Conclave brings together credible voices to address the questions and confusion that arise amid an overwhelming influx of information.”
He added that the initiative is aimed at delivering “facts, perspective, and insight” at a time when misinformation can easily cloud public understanding.
Echoing the sentiment, CNN-News18 CEO– English and business news Smriti Mehra said the conflict marks a defining global moment, with consequences that extend well beyond the region. She noted that the conclave seeks to present the crisis with “depth, nuance and responsibility” so audiences can better grasp its real-world impact.
As geopolitical tensions continue to dominate headlines, the conclave positions itself as an attempt to bring order to the noise, offering viewers a structured, insight-led look at a complex and rapidly shifting global situation.
