News Broadcasting
Disney Publishing Worldwide names Hampton as president
MUMBAI: R Russell Hampton Jr., has been named president of Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW). The announcement was made by Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney.
Hampton will be replacing Deborah Dugan who announced her resignation earlier this week. In this capacity, he will be responsible for overseeing DPW’s various book imprints and magazines around the world. Based in New York City, he will report to Mooney.
Mooney said, “Russell is taking over Disney Publishing at a time when its reputation for creating exciting new entertainment is flourishing. His leadership in turning Baby Einstein from a small video company to a significant multi-media infant developmental brand is well suited to overseeing DPW’s positive momentum.”
Hampton was named executive vice president of DCP’s global Home and Infant business in 2005 in addition to being general manager of The Baby Einstein Company, which he held since 2001 when The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) bought it.
“I’m honored to be given the responsibility of overseeing a division of The Walt Disney Company, which has such a rich history of extending and creating great stories for families around the globe,” said Hampton.
Disney Publishing Worldwide celebrates its 75th year in 2006 and is the largest publisher of children’s books and magazines in the world, selling 160 million books in 2005 and publishing 222 million magazine copies. DPW also publishes Family Fun magazine and the new Wondertime magazine for adults.
“The Disney treasure chest of characters and stories is much fuller today thanks to Deb’s oversight. The comic book series W.I.T.C.H. that has sold over 20 million copies and became a TV series and the creation of the Disney Fairies franchise are just two examples of Deb’s legacy at Disney Publishing,” said Mooney.
Previously, Hampton served as vice president of strategic planning and corporate development for TWDC. He joined TWDC in 1996 as manager of strategic planning.
Before joining Disney, Hampton was vice president of J.P. Morgan & Co. in New York.
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.
