News Broadcasting
Live Times launches Point Blank, Deepak Chaurasia’s no-holds-barred interview series
MUMBAI: Live Times, India’s first global multicast news hub, has unveiled Point Blank, a hard-hitting interview series fronted by veteran journalist Deepak Chaurasia. The weekly programme promises unscripted, straight-to-the-point exchanges with newsmakers—dispensing with rehearsed answers and demanding clear, accountable responses.
“In an era of predictable talking points, Point Blank is built to challenge every claim and cut through the noise,” said Live Times news director Deepak Chaurasia. Founder Dilip Singh added that the show reflects the channel’s belief that “truth belongs to the people” and must be freed from spin and hidden agendas.
Recent episodes have already delivered political candour. Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnudeo Sai outlined a tough new anti-conversion law, claiming it would preserve social harmony and declaring the “backbone of Naxalism” broken. Union minister Chirag Paswan spoke openly about his ‘Bihar First, Bihari First’ vision, admitting past missteps and offering a rare, personal glimpse beyond his public image.
With its blend of fearless questioning, rigorous fact-checking and zero tolerance for evasion, Point Blank aims to be one of Live Times’ defining programmes. The channel says it will continue to hold the powerful to account and ensure public discourse is driven by facts, not rhetoric.
Point Blank airs exclusively on Live Times across DD Free Dish (100), Tata Play (539), Airtel Digital TV (385), Dish TV (665), Sikka Cable (519) and Jio TV (3069), and streams via Tata Play Mobile, Airtel Xstream, Dish TV Watcho, DD Waves and www.livetimes.news.
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.
