News Broadcasting
Europe’s RTL takes complete stake in n-TV
MUMBAI: Europe’s largest broadcaster, RTL Group has taken full control of the German news network n-tv, acquiring CNN’s 50 percent stake for an undisclosed sum.
The Bonn-based German Cartel Office approved the move for RTL to acquire the 50 percent stake owned by Atlanta, Georgia-based CNN, the European broadcaster said in a statement.
RTL had applied to the German Cartel Office last November to take 100 percent control of the channel. The regulatory authority has approved the acquisition without any stipulations, according to media reports.
The German Cartel Office said it has approved Bertelsmann AG’s TV station RTL Television GmbH’s takeover of the German news station n-tv, despite expressing reservations.
The cartel office noted that RTL Group – with its stations RTL, VOX, Super RTL and n-tv – and its rival ProSiebenSat.1 GruppeMedia AG, enjoy a duopoly control of the German television market.
It said that rejecting the takeover would not weaken this duopoly nor reduce the advertising customers that RTL enjoys from the n-tv station.
RTL Germany head. Anke Schaeferkordt said, “We welcome the decision of the cartel office and are excited that n-tv has become the most important member of the RTL family.”
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.
