News Broadcasting
Fremantle to go to Natpe with dramas
MUMBAI: At the television trade event Natpe next year in Las Vegas television format creator and distributor FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) will offer big brand shows and drama programming.
Kicking things off will be The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency with Janice Dickinson making an appearance at the Mandalay Bay to showcase this series.
On the show she endures the trials and tribulations of setting up her own modelling agency. After five seasons as the ‘Simon-Cowell-of-modelling’ judge on America’s Next Top Model, Janice is now taking the reigns as both star and producer of this hit new show which has already made waves around the world.
Live From Abbey Road makes its Natpe debut, with the likes of Snow Patrol, Massive Attack, LeAnn Rimes and the Red Hot Chili Peppers celebrating the 75th anniversary of London’s legendary Abbey Road recording studios. Both new and established artists offer a unique insight into the world of the musician as they rehearse, discuss their work, and build towards the final exclusive performance at the home of music.
Series three of Project Runway is available, hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum. This wildly popular series from The Weinstein Company was nominated for three 2006 Emmy awards and screens in 21 territories worldwide. Series three sees fifteen new fashion designers battling it out for the chance to show their designs in front of the global fashion community in New York and be displayed in the pages of Elle magazine. A hot property, the series three finale of Project Runway recently achieved a record-breaking 5.4 million viewers – the highest rated programme ever on Bravo.
The Martha Stewart Show makes a return to NATPE, featuring celebrity-studded and informative segments, with the spotlight on Martha Stewart’s sense of humour and love of fun. Having recently been renewed for a further series on NBC, each episode features movers and shakers, headline makers, A-list celebrities plus everyday people who’ve accomplished extraordinary things.
With guests such as Russell Crowe, Jamie Oliver, Olivia Newton-John, Jessica Alba, Harrison Ford, Sharon Stone, Jason Biggs, Paul Walker and the cast of Desperate Housewives, season one of The Martha Stewart Show received five Emmy nominations and scooped one award.
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.
