News Broadcasting
Don’t air live Cauvery violence: MIB to b’casters
NEW DELHI: Noting that it had come to its notice that certain television channels had been telecasting provocative news / programmes relating to the Cauvery dispute, the Government on Tuesday evening asked the media to avoid live telecasts or file shots of violence.
A statement issued by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said the reportage may use shots of the Cauvery river and security forces. It said news, views or comments relating to the dispute should be telecast only after proper verification of facts and presented with due caution.
TV channels have been asked to exercise restraint while covering incidents of rioting. Cable TV and satellite channels have been asked not to carry news in such a way that it incites violence. Earlier, I&B Minister M Venkaiah Naidu urged the media to exercise restraint in coverage of such incidents.
The note issued by Director (Broadcasting) Neeti Sarkar stated that, as per the conditions/obligations of permission / approval for uplinking / downlinking, the channels are bound to follow the Programme Code and Advertising Code prescribed under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 and rules framed thereunder.
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.
