News Broadcasting
KBC offers a window to the world of Korean content
MUMBAI: If TV Korea has its way, the words KBC will have a whole new meaning in India! The TV Korea Showcase, 2006, hosted by the Korean Broadcasting Commission (KBC) in Mumbai on 7 February displayed the best of Korean television content to the media present.
The event was flagged off by an introduction to Korean Broadcasters followed by a screening of Korean content. It’s interesting to note that most of the shows that were showcased had themes that have already been explored by Indian broadcasters.
Romance and action seemed to be a dominant theme in most of the drama series on display. Drama series like Winter Sonata (KBS Media) and Love of My Life (MBC) and documentaries like World of Butterflies (MBC) and Attack of Environment (SBS) are shows that seemed not only interesting as far as content is concerned, but they made television viewing pleasurable due to the way they have been shot.
Animation formed a large part of the Korean content on display and Indian audiences would readily identify with characters like Komi (Komi’s World of Curiosity by SBS) and Dori (Lexa by MBC). Komi’s World of Curiosity represents the ‘edu-mation’ genre.
Further, KBC also showcased EBS, which is the only broadcasting corporation dedicated to public education in Korea. Its content ranges from animated spots and documentaries based on nature and history to introducing Mathematics to children and telling children about ‘birds and bees’.
This is one bouquet of shows and documentaries that could fit in well with the already varied content on Indian television. Is anyone listening?
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.
