News Broadcasting
Gemini beefs up afternoon band
MUMBAI: After Vijay and Teja, another regional Southern channel has shifted focus to the lucrative afternoon band. Gemini, the Telugu channel from the Sun stable, is now
A still from Moodu Mulla Bandham
beefing up its programming in the siesta hours with an eye on the housewife’s viewing patterns.
To launch later this month are three Monday to Friday ‘mega serials’ that will debut on Gemini in phases, according to Gemini TV director Sharad Kumar. True to afternoon soap tradition, all three
A still from Akka
are women -centric and cast in the familiar family drama-conflict ‘n emotion mould.
A still from Mangalyaniki Maro Mudi
Moodu Mulla Bandham that launches 24 November at 12.30 pm, has film actor Pragathi in the lead. Akka starring Indu, Sivakavita and Vanaja will debut shortly on Gemini TV at 1.30 pm. Mangalyaniki Maro Mudi, also in a family drama, will also launch shortly, says Kumar.
Gemini, along with Teja, was one of the first regional channels in the country to go pay late last year. Earlier swamped with programmes dubbed from the originals on Sun TV, Gemini has since last year, beefed up on original programming and made itself a strong contender to the throne in the face of stiff competition provided by ETV.
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.
