News Broadcasting
Kejriwal govt to keep tab on news channels coverage on Delhi
NEW DELHI: For the first time ever, the Delhi Government’s Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP) is to monitor content being broadcast by news channels.
This follows instructions from the Delhi chief minister’s office.
Interestingly, former chief minister Sheila Dikshit had also mooted the idea at one stage, but dropped the idea for fear of backlash from the media.
The current order directs DIP officials to monitor news channels from 9 am to 11 pm.
Delhi government sources said a team of three has been asked to keep tabs on news channels and send a daily report to the CMO.
“Besides recording everything going on air, the team has been directed to make a brief of all news items, especially those related to Delhi and the Delhi government,” said a senior official.
Over the last few days, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and party workers have accused a section of media of being anti-Aam Aadmi Party.
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.
