News Broadcasting
Mandira replaces Ruby in MAX’s ‘Extraaa Innings’
MUMBAI: The svelte cricket-loving Mandira Bedi has replaced bubbly Ruby Bhatia in MAX’s Extraaa Innings during the forthcoming World Cup Cricket 2003.
SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta confirmed the same at the Advertising Club Bombay panel discussion on marketing opportunities that advertisers could leverage for their brands by ensuring participation in the forthcoming World Cup cricket (WCC) 2003. Bedi however was not available for comment as she was out of station.
Bedi’s inclusion will be targetted at attracting women viewers during the early afternoon slots when the World Cup commences early February next year. Extraaa Innings will spearhead the entertainment segment of the two-hour pre-match programming and post-match programming on MAX, the sports and movie channel of SET.
Bedi, unlike Bhatia, could relate better with women viewers with her Indian looks and wholesome appeal, feel industry sources. MAX had claimed an increase in female viewership for cricket and cricket-related programming during the Champion’s Trophy held in September this year.
The cricket programming had drawn criticism from some quarters for the dumbing down of the game it entailed. The channel had however insisted that ratings for Extraaa Innings proved otherwise.
Bedi was first noticed by a UTV director, Adi Pocha who cast her as Shanti in 1994. Bedi has also acted in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.. as a character with grey shades.
Bedi is currently acting in a sitcom Papa Baan Gaye Hero for Sony.
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.
