News Broadcasting
Is Aaj Tak going English or regional?
NEW DELHI: The information and broadcasting ministry has received an application from Aaj Tak for starting a news channel and seeking a no-objection for uplinking the channel from India. But there is a catch: the permission has been sought for a regional language news channel.
According to government sources, though many news channels have been proposed, in recent times one application that has come forth seeking various permissions from the I&B ministry, subsequent to which okays will be given by other government agencies and departments, is that of Aaj Tak, which proposes to start a regional language channel.
If government sources are to be believed, then Aaj Tak’s advertisement, which had been brought out in various editions of The Times Of India seeking candidates for various categories, including editorial, is for a regional channel, contrary to popular belief that the proposed news channel will be in English. The ad itself does not mention anywhere in the copy that the proposed channel will be an English one.
Aaj Tak’s application is being processed for necessary action to be taken on the request, sources say. Aaj Tak Hindi , launched end 2001, has emerged as a strong player in the news channel space and has also managed to dislodge Zee News, primarily catering to the Hindi speaking audiences in the country, from the top slot.
In an annual brand evaluation exercise, which is undertaken by business newspaper Business Standard and reported in today’s edition, Aaj Tak, occupying the third spot, is the only media brand to have figured amongst a host of FMCG and consumer electronics brand.
The government source also said that despite the hype, no application from Star India has come yet for their proposed news channel. Star’s five year content agreement with NDTV for content on Star News comes to an end on 31 March , 2003.
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.
