News Broadcasting
Election broadcast must be seen in context of electoral constituencies: NBSA
MUMBAI: A case had been filed against English news channels CNN-IBN, NDTV, Times Now and Headlines Today regarding a piece of news that was broadcast on 7 April 2014.
The complaint filed by Vishal Kudchadkar and Syed Ali Hussaini claimed that on the particular day, some constituencies in Assam and Tripura went to polls but the above mentioned channels chose to broadcast the BJP manifesto release on the same day. According to the complainants, they have violated the Section 126 (1) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, which prohibits any public display of election matter by means of cinematography, television and other similar apparatus during the period of 48 hours prior to the end of polling.
This apart they allege that it also violates the direction of the Election Commission of India and Guideline 12 of the NBA guidelines for election broadcasts.
The NBSA sought a reply from the ECI in this regard to which it said, “The legal opinion (obtained by EC) on the issue relating to Section 126 of RP Act was that the said section, being a penal provision, had to be strictly construed; and that the telecasting of an election related event such as release of election manifesto or an election address or a press conference outside the limits of a constituency going to the poll would not attract the penal provisions of Section 126; and that the prohibition regarding the release of a manifesto or election address or press conference will have to be restricted to any election matters relating to that constituency and the candidates in that constituency.”
Guideline 12 of the NBA says, ‘The broadcasters shall not broadcast any ‘election matter’ that is, any matter intended or calculated to influence or affect the result of an election during the 48 hours ending with the hours fixed for the conclusion of poll, in violation of Section 126 (1) (b) of the Representation of People Act. 1951.’ The EC was proposing to consider the broadcast of the BJP manifesto as a violation of section 126 of RP Act.
Therefore, the NBSA feels that this falls in the jurisdiction of the criminal courts. It says that it could have considered that the broadcasters had violated the provision of section 126 (1)(b) of the RP Act, had the words ‘in violation of section 126(1)(b) of the Representation of People Act, 1951’.
The election matter also involves the fact that whether anything was done to disturb or tilt the voting scenario in the area where it is being held rather than throughout the country. Therefore, the NBSA says that the complaints have no merit and can be closed.
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: 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.
