News Broadcasting
ETC Networks to buy back equity shares in open market
MUMBAI: ETC Networks has decided to buy back the company’s equity shares up to 10 per cent of paid up capital from the open market at a maximum price of Rs 50 per share.
“The company had cash resources and we thought this would be the best way to return value to the shareholders. This will only improve the earnings per share and provide higher earnings for the shareholders,” says ETC Networks director finance Vikas Gupta.
With the buyback, Zee Telefilms’ holding in ETC Networks will go up from 51 per cent to around 56 per cent, Gupta adds.
ETC’s board also met today to approve the audited results for the last quarter and year-ended 31 March 2005. The Board has recommended a dividend at Rs 1 per share (10 per cent) for the year ended 31st March 2005.
Net profit dipped to Rs 8 million for the last quarter of the fiscal, from Rs 79.2 million a year ago. “Because of the merger with E-Connect we had a tax benefit last year. There was no such tax shelter this year,” explains Gupta.
Total income, however, grew to Rs 120.1 million as against Rs 108.8 million. Profit before tax also rose to Rs 14.6 million, up from Rs 10.6 million during this period.
Net profit for the financial year ended March 31 2005 decreased to Rs 72.2 million, as against Rs 157.8 million a year a year ago. Total income, though, increased to Rs 478.7 million, up from Rs 443 during this period. “There was a nominal decrease in the operating profit for the year due to our increased spend on programming and marketing expenses,” says Gupta.
Along with many small events, the Company has recently conducted mega events like Baisakhi Blast´ and Punjabi Music Awards. “ETC Music has lined up seven musical events to enrich its Saturday programming. With these events, the Company has opened up new revenue streams which will have substantial impact on revenue and profits,” Gupta adds.
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.
