News Broadcasting
iTV Network onboards Anuraag Muskaan as news anchor
Mumbai: In a bid to bolster the coverage of primetime news, iTV Network has brought on board Anuraag Muskaan as host for its multi- format primetime news show “Jaagtey Raho”. The show is slated to be broadcast on India News for 60 minutes and will be aired from Monday to Friday at 9 p.m.
iTV network said the motto of the show is to capture and transmit fresh news updates regularly in the fields ranging from current affairs to politics. “Specially packaged to accommodate the diversified interests of Indian viewers, the show will also explore all aspects of the major stories of the day along with various segments such as speed news, positive news, social media integration and interviews which will add more depth to the coverage,” it added.
With a career spread over two decades, Muskaan has worked with established names in the media domain such as Jain TV, ETV Urdu, Sahara Samay, Star News, RajyaSabha TV, India TV, India News and most recently at ABP News as a primetime anchor where he hosted his signature show “Ghanti Bajao”.
“Anuraag is a remarkable talent and his history of creative ingenuity and fluency will move iTV network in promising new directions that connect directly with what our viewers are seeking,” said iTV Network founder Kartikeya Sharma. “I am thrilled to welcome him to the brand and extremely excited to be introducing his new primetime show which has been specially curated, keeping in mind the viewers’ needs and concerns.”
“I look forward to working with the talented editors and reporters to define what’s next for iTV network. The network has such a rich history, and I’m excited to be a part of its future,” said Muskaan.
Apart from India News channel, the show will be aired on the channel’s social media assets and on OTT platforms – Zee5, Dailyhunt, JioTV, Shemaroo, Mzaalo, Watcho, Flipkart, Paytm, Tatasky, Vodafone Play, and MX Player
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.
