News Broadcasting
Imaginasian TV to premiere ‘Comedy Zen II’ on 10 November
MUMBAI: ImaginAsian TV has announced that it will premiere the second season of its original comedy series, Comedy Zen on 10 November 2006 at 9 pm.
Comedy Zen’s second season-taped at David Henry Hwang Theater-will consist of six new half-hour episodes and a dynamic lineup of Asian America’s wittiest comics, asserts an official release.
Headed by returning host, Joey Guila (P-Diddy’s Bad Boys of Comedy, Takeout Comedy Tour 2004), Comedy Zen II showcases two comedians in each episode and highlights their unique styles ranging from playful irony to irreverent life observations.
ImaginAsian TV SVP programming and production David Chu said, “The first season of Comedy Zen received a positive response from our many viewers, especially from those who have long clamored to see talented Asian American comedians brought to the limelight. We’re very excited to air this second season, which we think is even hipper, funnier, and more sharp-witted than our first season.”
Airing weekly, the second season features many new as well as returning comedians. This season’s lineup of stand-up comics includes Nigel Lawrence (Comedy now, Vancouver comedy festival), Kevin Shea (Kims of comedy), Mark Saldana (NBC’s last comic standing), and Bobby Miyamoto (Comedy central’s premium blend), added the release.
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.
