News Broadcasting
Fox News appoints new execs; no mention of junior Murdochs
MUMBAI: After the exit of Roger Alies as the head of Fox News, 21st Century Fox executive chairman Rupert Murdoch has named Jake Abernethy and Bill Shine as co-presidents of Fox News. The two executives will report to Murdoch.
Abernethy comes from the less dramatic and political corner of the empire, Fox’s network of local stations. He will oversee more of the business end now. Shine, earlier senior executive VP of programming for Fox News, will now focus on programming and editorial matters.
It has also come to our knowledge that Suzanne Scott has been promoted as executive vice president of programming and development for the network. She will continue to report to Shine. Fox News’ long-time chief financial officer Mark Kranz is retiring.
“Over his 19 years with Fox News, Mark Kranz was instrumental in increasing profitability across all of our key properties,” Murdoch said in a statement. “We are grateful for his many contributions to the company and we extend our best wishes to him as he embarks on a new chapter.”
Jay Wallace will continue to manage the news division as the executive vice president of news editorial. He will now report to Shine.
Both executives had previously reported to Ailes, and both had been widely speculated to be among the top internal contenders to replace Ailes.
“Jack was integral to the launch and success of Fox News nearly 20 years ago and we’re delighted he’s returning to take on this additional role,” Murdoch said in a statement. “As we continue to benefit from his strong leadership of Fox Television Stations, his strategic vision and deep knowledge of the cable news business will ensure continued growth of Fox News and Fox Business Network for generations to come.”
He added, “Bill Shine has developed and produced a signature primetime that has dominated the cable news landscape for 14 of his 20 years with Fox News. His leadership and keen eye for programming has played a fundamental role in the success of both, Fox News and Fox Business Network.”
The announcement of Shine and Abernethy’s promotion makes no mention of Murdoch’s sons, James Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch. The elder Murdoch has been running Fox News on an interim basis since Ailes’ departure last month.
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: 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.
