News Broadcasting
Estee Lauder chairman Langhammer on Disney board
MUMBAI: Estee Lauder chairman global affairs Fred H Langhammer has been elected by Disney as an independent director. He takes up his post from January 2005.
As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com Disney will launch two channels in India on 17 December.
Disney chairman George J. Mitchell said, “With 40 years of significant international business experience, including a decade as president, and later CEO of his present company, Fred has the proven leadership and global perspective that will serve Disney shareholders well.
“In addition, his experience with upscale and market-leading consumer products and services, including his understanding of how to grow and protect strong international brands, will provide a significant contribution to the issues Disney faces as the company expands globally.”
Langhammer helped take Estee Lauder public and presided over explosive growth over the past decade, including a nearly three-fold increase in its stock price.
Disney’s governance and nominating committee worked with Russell Reynolds Associates, a global executive recruiting firm, to identify Langhammer as a candidate for the board. Disney meanwhile has already started the process of identifying another independent board member. It is looking to elect that director within a year’s time.
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.
