News Broadcasting
IndiaCast to launch Colors on Africa’s DStv in October
MUMBAI: IndiaCast is all set to launch Viacom18’s Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) Colors in Africa through its partnership with MultiChoice.
Colors, which is present in more than 135 countries, will be available to DStv Indian customers in South Africa from 15 October, 2015. The channel will reach out to Indian viewers in 13 countries including South Africa, Bostwana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zanzibar.
Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, “In the seven years since it first launched, Colors has been a game changer in the television industry with path-breaking content that has appealed to viewer sensibilities. As the channel launches on DStv in Africa, the channel’s global penetration in more than 135 markets, with shows syndicated in over 100 markets, further reinforces our belief in our offerings and ability to match viewing preferences of our audiences.”
IndiaCast group CEO Anuj Gandhi added, “At IndiaCast, it is our endeavour to present South Asian viewers across the world with quality Hindi entertainment avenues bringing a taste of Indian culture and values to their fingertips. Our association with MultiChoice is a partnership which enables us to further expand our footprint within Africa and keep viewers entertained through our varied offerings. We are happy to be able to reach out to DStv customers with content from the Colors library and look forward to reaching out to more viewers in Africa as our relationship with the network strengthens.”
IndiaCast Middle East & Africa business head Sachin Gokhale said, “We are very excited to grow our presence in Africa through our partnership with MultiChoice. Brand Colors is already known by all South Asian diaspora worldwide for its innovative content, clutter breaking marketing and local connect. We are well aware that DStv customers are a discerning lot, given that they are well exposed to the best of global content, and we now look forward to ensuring that Colors exceeds their expectations, delights them and becomes a meaningful part of their lives.”
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.
