News Broadcasting
Exercise restraint, Bengaluru police tells news b’casters
NEW DELHI: Even as the Information and Broadcasting Ministry advised television channels to avoid life telecasts or file shots of violence or rioting linked to the Cauvery dispute, the Bengaluru Police has issued a similar directive for channels reporting from Karnataka.
An order issued by Bengaluru police commissioner N S Megarikh yesterday advised television channels to follow the provisions of the Programme Code ‘scrupulously and exercise restraint and sensitivity while reporting such incidents and refrain from telecasting any material which could ignite passions and create law and order problem in the city.’
The directive also said that violation of its advisory may lead to prosecution of the offenders under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995.
Noting that it had come to its notice that certain television channels had been telecasting provocative and inflammatory news / programmes relating to the Cauvery dispute including footage of violence, the advisory said that this may lead to further tension, resulting in a deterioration of the law and order situation.
The Advisory quoted the relevant provisions in the Act as well as the uplinking and downlinking guidelines.
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.
