News Broadcasting
Jonathan Kingsbury to head BBC New Media’s external supply division
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has announced that Jonathan Kingsbury who is currently the head of editorial affairs, has been appointed to head the external supply division of BBC New Media.
The new role will champion the cause of external suppliers to the BBC’s New Media division. As part of his role, Kingsbury will encourage the BBC’s commissioning teams to use external as well as internal producers; ensure independent companies are properly represented within the BBC and that commissioners are aware of new suppliers; and also collate feedback on the process from the BBC and the industry.
His role will involve overseeing the Approved Suppliers List (ASL), which is to be the prime resource for new media commissioning in future. BBC New media and technology’s business and finance director Sharmila Nebhrajani said, “I am delighted Jonathan is taking this key role, which helps us continue to build on the relationship we have with the external market and to enrich the content and services on bbc.co.uk.”
Kingsbury says, “I am delighted to be taking on the role of championing external suppliers and, importantly, making it easier for them to work with the BBC. The BBC’s objective is to achieve a significant diversity of supply, based on commissioning principles of openness and meritocracy. This will help the BBC in its mission to deliver high-quality and ever more innovative services to our audiences, while at the same time benefiting the new media industry.”
The appointment is one of the steps the BBC is taking in order to create a better relationship with independent companies, as part of its plan to meet its self-imposed target of 25 per cent of online applications being supplied by external suppliers.
The BBC has been working towards improving its relationship with new media companies. It has increased the amount it spends on external new media commissions by 30 per cent, to ?8 million, it has also created a ?750,000 innovation fund for independents.
In addition to that, the BBC organised four supplier events in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. The events, which have been well-received by the independent community, were designed to communicate the BBC’s new media strategies to the industry.
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.
