News Broadcasting
In10 Media’s kids channel Gubbare forays into original content
Mumbai: The In10 Media Network’s kids channel, Gubbare, is all set to intensify the competition in the genre with original content.
After much anticipation and understanding of the viewer’s television consumption behaviour, Gubbare is gearing up to bring its first-ever magical martial arts superhero – ‘Akki Jaanbaaz’ to life during the festive period. The idea is to create a role model for kids that will be closer to their hearts and have a unique storyline, it said on Monday.
The show will have classic martial art moves and playful characters that will resonate with every kid across the country. The series revolves around a nine-year-old boy Akki who juggles his normal life along with his superhero persona, thanks to a magical belt while finding a balance between the two. Toonz Animation was roped in as the production house of the show.
“Since its launch in 2020, Gubbare has kept kids at the core – be it the characters or stories. The launch of the IPs is a significant milestone for us as we move towards garnering a larger share of the viewership pie,” Gubbare AVP – Content & Strategy Brian D’costa. “With local, relevant, and entertaining narratives, we will further strengthen our original programming in multiple languages as we want to connect with kids across regions. Kids today want differentiated content and our new line-up will fulfill that need-gap in the genre.”
To engage with the audience, the channel also plans to launch a high-intensity marketing plan. From Instagram filters, AR/VR characterisation to a dance challenge, kids will have a chance to win interesting merchandise, it said on Monday.
In the pipeline are two more original titles, ‘Roro aur Hero – Bhoot mast! Zabardast’ and ‘Akul aur Nakul – The Asuras’. Both the shows, catering to different genres, explore the themes of friendship, family, and good vs evil but marry them with comedy with the help of the lovable characters. “Staying true to the channel’s tagline – Masti Ke Phuwarre – the new IPs will celebrate magic, action, and high-quality animation and extend Gubbare’s library to build affinity with its loyal audience. The efforts are also being made to keep the content relevant globally,” the channel said in a statement.
The new show ‘Akki Jaanbaaz’ will air at 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm on 27 December in Hindi, English, Tamil, and Telugu. It will also be available on the network’s OTT platform EPIC ON.
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.
