News Broadcasting
Delhi HC directs Google to suspend HappyEasyGo’s ad account
New Delhi: The Delhi high court has directed Google to suspend an advertising account of travel booking website HappyEasyGo on its Ad Words programme, where companies bid for keywords to appear on top of search results.
The directive was passed by a single judge bench of justice Jayant Nath on two contempt petitions filed by MakeMyTrip (MMT) against HappyEasyGo (HEG) in the last two months, reported Live Law.
The plea was filed for acting against a prior order which had restrained HEG from bidding for, adopting and using any of MMT's word marks or deceptive variants thereof, as an ad word through Google's Ad Word Programme.
MakeMyTrip had sought to stop HEG from using MMT-related keywords to appear on top of search results.
MMT recently pursued fresh contempt notices against HEG, alleging that it was still using MMT-related keywords despite the order dated 30 May 2018, in which the restraining directives were passed in MMT's favour.
MakeMyTrip had first moved the high court in 2018 stating that the website of HappyGoEasy, who also engaged in the business of online booking and selling of air tickets, appeared in the sponsored links section of the search engine when search was conducted for the mark “makemytrip”.
According to a report in Bar & Bench, the court also issued directions for service of bailable warrants against directors Rajesh Kumar Dathik and Neelam Rani, in order to secure their presence before the court on the next date of hearing.
Google Ad Words are a key revenue source for the search giant where companies bid for certain keywords to appear on top of search results. This includes keywords like the name of popular platforms like MMT.
In recent times, several companies have expressed concerns over the Ad Words programme. MMT has a similar litigation going on against rival EaseMyTrip as well.
The matter will next be heard on 7 April.
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.
