News Broadcasting
eWAN1 global IPTV service to launch in 36 Languages including Urdu
MUMBAI: The US-based broadband network solutions provider eWAN1, Inc. has announced that subscribers of the company’s new Global Internet Television service will be able to access their local TV stations, plus EWAN’s initial 75 channels of traditional broadcast television in 36 major languages. The service is scheduled to launch on 15 April.
The company also announced that among the languages being supported is Urdu, spoken in Afghanistan and parts of Iraq.
Ewan president Scott Kettle says, “Our ability to appeal to and accommodate the global customer is what will truly set Ewan’s service offering apart from our would-be competitors. Our ability to offer our service in Urdu is particularly compelling in that it directly helps US efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan. We are honoured to be able to contribute to the overall effort in providing the programming and medium that we hope will result in a lasting free and democratic society in these embattled parts of the Middle East.”
As per the plan, Ewan will launch IPTV service on a global basis in the following languages: Urdu, Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Turkish, Thai, Tagalog, Swedish, Spanish, Slovak, Hebrew, Serbian, Russian, Romanian, Punjabi, Polish, Portuguese, Persian, Norwegian, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Italian, German, Hindi, Greek, French, Finnish, English, Egyptian, Dutch, Danish, Czech, Cantonese, Bulgarian, Bengali, Armenian and Arabic, states an official release.
Ewan’s set-top box includes Internet, telephone service (VOIP), data and video capability, and subscribers will be joining a new, private, exclusive TV network at a cost of approximately one-third of that now charged by existing cable or satellite companies.
Offering consumers 75 channels of “On Demand” content delivered to their television screens via any DSL or broadband connection Ewan in March will roll out the first of a projected 250,000 of its proprietary “Triple Play” set-top boxes to both the US and international consumers this year. The set-top box is pre-bundled with a monthly subscription for the channels of content and consumers will be able to order online and from local retail channels, the release adds.
Ewan’s wholly owned subsidiary, Direct Connect, will provide traditional broadcast television including such popular programming as HBO, CNN, Showtime, ABC and ESPN, allowing subscribers to pick and choose only those channels they are willing to pay for.
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.
