News Broadcasting
Cut cable ops’ payout if channel withdrawn from bouquet: Trai
NEW DELHI: Broadcast and cable regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), today said that the charges levied on a cable operator by a broadcaster would get reduced if a TV channel is withdrawn from a particular
bouquet.
Pointing out that certain amendments in an earlier tariff order have been carried out, the regulator said that the changes are being made so that if a broadcaster reduces the number of channels in a bouquet, the ceiling charges of the bouquet will get reduced accordingly.
This means that if HBO, for example, gets out of the One Alliance bouquet, then cable ops and MSOs cannot be charged One Alliances earlier subscription rates, which should be reduced equivalent to the HBO channels cost.
According to Trai, in the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Second) Tariff Order 2004, reduction in ceiling charges was specified in the second provision of clause three for multi-system and cable operators. This provided reduction in ceiling charges taking into account the rates of similar channels, as on 26 December, 2003, in case of reduction in the number of channels being shown by a MSO or a cable operator.
It is considered that the same principle should also apply in case a broadcaster reduces the number of pay channels being supplied or when a pay channel converts into a free to air channel, Trai has said in an official statement today.
The details of the order can be taken from the regulators website, www.trai.gov.in.
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.
