News Broadcasting
Exim policy expected to boost investment in entertainment sector
NEW DELHI: The Indian government’s new Exim (export-import) policy unveiled today lays emphasis on the entertainment industry, apart from giving a massive thrust to services, exports, removal of restrictions on exports and making the Export Promotion Credit Guarantee scheme more flexible.
Though the government did not specify any particular segment of the entertainment industry, industry watchers here feel that, in general, it may give a fillip to the broadcasting sector too.
Announcing a package for entertainment industry, commerce minister Arun Jaitely in his maiden Exim Policy address said this sector, which was “singularly handicapped” by lack of investment, would now be promoted by encouraging venture capital funds into the sector.
Suitable tax incentives would be given to the venture capitalists, in consultation with the finance ministry, he said, adding that a sector-specific working group would be set up for this purpose
Aiming at 1 per cent share in the world trade, the new Exim Policy will give maximum thrust to services like healthcare, entertainment, professional services and tourism.
Though VCs are yet to turn their business eye to the broadcasting sector, they have realised the potential of the film industry. In recent times, some big Bollywood producers have been in talks with VCs to fund their films.
Hailing the Exim Policy as a progressive one, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said one of the significant features of this year’s policy was the initiative to proactively address the needs of different sectors as also giving reliefs to service exporters in sectors such as healthcare and entertainment where people now can now use 10 per cent of their foreign exchange earnings to import office and professional equipment, spares and consumables duty free.
Meanwhile, coinciding with the announcements in the Exim Policy, a six-member Israeli delegation of venture capital companies is visiting India this week to explore business opportunities.
The delegation is currently managing over 16 billion euros. Its aim is to understand the current situation of Indian economy, opportunities in high-technology sectors — particularly in information technology and telecom — and seek collaborations with Indian venture capital companies.
The Israeli team will meet minister for communications and IT Arun Shourie and member of the Planning Commission NK Singh.
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.
