News Broadcasting
Inzamam Ul-Haq to host cricket show on Zee News
NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-Ul-Haq is hosting the special series planned to cover the current India-Pakistan cricket series on Zee News.
The cricket icon will host Junoon 2007 for Zee News in his very first appearance as a TV host. The deal with Zee News covers the entire series between India and Pakistan. Inzamam goes on air on Zee News at 6 pm.
Commenting on this exclusive association, Zee News editor Satish K Singh said, “It is a matter of great honour to have a cricketing icon like Inzamam on board. We look forward to seeing him in action behind the camera for the first time ever, having grown up with him in awe of his batting and leadership prowess. We are confident that through his expertise, he is going to make the daily coverage of the cricket series on the channel interesting and interactive.”
Inzamam will also be participating in live phone-ins prior to and after the day’s match. Viewers will get to speak to him directly through this level of interactivity.
Junoon 2007 will give some in-depth coverage through various segments across its programming genre. Haq Se Poocho allows viewers to put their questions across directly to Inzamam-ul-Haq through e-mail, sms or by calling. Mohalla Cricket Wala will have a reporter going to a cricketer’s mohalla and will show a snippet of his performance in the past along with his personal background.
A special show Turning Point With Inzamam-Ul-Haq is a daily 2 minute capsule, where Inzamam will explain the turning points of the match. A Day With Inzamam will show Inzamam going to various tourist places in India and share his emotions with the viewers.
Apart from these, regular bulletins will keep the viewers updated on the happenings of the match.
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.
