News Broadcasting
ET NOW Swadesh announces ‘Gold Mahakumbh’ initiative
Mumbai: As the festive season ushers, ET NOW Swadesh, the Hindi business news channel, announces ‘Gold Mahakumbh’, an initiative empowering its viewers with unparalleled insights and expertise on investments in gold and silver. Airing 14 September from 10 am to 2 pm, the four-hour mega initiative will feature 20 industry veterans, gold market analysts, trade experts, and fund managers providing expert insights into the trends and demand for gold, investment opportunities, its role as a crucial asset class and more. They will engage in insightful discussions about the intricacies of buying gold jewellery, emerging market trends, gold prices, gold F&O trading, and gold taxation, offering comprehensive insights into every facet of the gold market.
The Gold Mahakumbh initiative is led by ET Now and ET Now Swadesh editor-in-chief Nikunj Dalmia and supported by a team of seasoned financial and business journalists including Vishwamohan Kumar, Kavita Thapliyal, Dimpy Kalra, Abhishek Satya Vratam, and Prashant Pandey.
‘Gold Mahakumbh’ initiative entails the following segments:
1. Golden Asset Class (10am – 11 am): This segment will explore the significance of gold as an asset class and cover topics such as the role of gold as a hedging or investment tool, its future as a currency, and taxation on gold investments. Expert panellists Saiyam Mehra (Chairman, All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council), Nitin Kedia (National General Secretary, All India Jewellers & Goldsmith Federation), Suvankar Sen (Managing Director, Senco Gold & Diamonds), Harshal Barot (Senior Consultant, Metals Focus Limited), Vikram Dhawan (Head of Commodities & Fund Manager, Nippon India Mutual Fund), and Jayprakash Gupta, founder of Dhan/Moneylicious), will share their insights on the demand for gold, price outlook, and its relevance for all types of investors.
2. Golden Trading Ki Pathshala (11am – 12 noon): Featuring industry experts, this segment will cover key aspects of gold and silver F&O trading, hedging strategies and more. From simplifying the complexities of gold and silver futures trading, and obtaining gold through commodity exchanges, panellists Shivanshu Mehta (Director, India International Bullion Exchange IFSC Ltd and Bullion Head, MCX), Anindya Banerjee, (Head, Research, Currency and Commodity, Kotak Securities), Kishore Narne (Director, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd), Anuj Gupta (Head of Commodities Research, HDFC Securities), and Jayprakash Gupta founder of Dhan/Moneylicious), will explain how refiners, manufacturers, retailers, exporters, and importers can utilize derivatives tools to purchase gold or silver.
3. Golden Shopping (12 noon – 1pm): The ‘Golden Shopping’ segment is entirely dedicated to physical gold purchases. Industry veterans Suvankar Sen (Managing Director, Senco Gold & Diamonds), Saiyam Mehra (Chairman, All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council), Ashish Pethe (Partner, Waman Hari Pethe), Dr. B Govindan (Chairman, Bhima Jewellery Group) and Dr. Renisha Chainani (Head of Research, Augmont) will share insights and tips on how to start your gold purchasing journey. The seasoned panellists will also address crucial topics such as gold hallmarking, Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID), and briefly discuss taxation on gold purchases.
4. Silver Shopping (1pm – 2pm): This segment focuses on ‘silver’ and delves into the multifaceted world of silver investments, exploring the most lucrative and accessible options currently dominating the market. With insights from Rahul Mehta (managing director, Silver Emporium Pvt Ltd), Vijay Agrawal, (RV Agrawal Impex Pvt Ltd), Shivanshu Mehta (director, India International Bullion Exchange IFSC Ltd and Bullion Head, MCX), and Chintan Haria (Principal Investment Strategist, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Ltd), this informative session will highlight the demand and price outlook for silver, hallmarking in silver and more.
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.
