News Broadcasting
FM b’cast policy tipped for a change before general elections
NEW DELHI: The government is contemplating on taking a final view on the recommendations of an expert panel, on FM radio broadcast policy, before the country gets into the general elections mode, which is likely to happen March onwards.
According to government sources, the last date for sending in feedback on the panel’s suggestions expires on 19 January, after which the information and broadcasting minister proposes to move a cabinet note to effect changes in the existing policy, if need be. Any change in the FM radio broadcast policy would have to have the green signal from the full Cabinet.
“This is evident from the fact that work on a paper on FM radio broadcast policy is going on at the moment so that not much time is wasted in seeking Cabinet okay on the changes suggested,” a government source said, adding that this is despite the fact that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been appointed the regulator for the broadcast sector too.
Since clarity on I&B ministry’s role, post TRAI development, is still not forthcoming, the I&B ministry would have a say in the formulation of policies regarding broadcast and cable sector, though TRAI, technically, comes under the telecom ministry, the source said.
The FM radio panel, headed by Ficci’s secretary-general Amit Mitra, last year had submitted its recommendations after extensive consultation with the industry and government officials.
Amongst some of the radical suggestions, it had been said that news and current affairs programming be allowed on private FM radio stations as also bring foreign investment norms in such ventures at par with those prevalent in the electronic and print media.
In the print and electronic medium, for the news category, foreign investment is permitted up till 26 per cent. Of course, such investments come with heavy riders to safeguard against foreigners taking full control of news ventures in India.
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.
