News Broadcasting
MIB constitutes committee to review guidelines on TV rating agencies
KOLKATA: Amid the concerns raised over TV ratings system in India, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has constituted a committee to review guidelines on TV rating agencies. The ministry has published the notification on 4 November.
In the notification, the ministry has stated that it has taken the decision after detailed deliberations by a parliamentary committee, committee on TRP constituted by MIB and recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
“Based on the operation of the guidelines for a few years, there is a need to have a fresh look on the guidelines particularly keeping in view the recent recommendations of TRAI, technological advancements/ interventions to address the system and further strengthening of the procedures for a credible and transparent rating system, a Committee is hereby constituted to study different aspects of the TV rating system in India as they have evolved over a period of time,” MIB stated.
As per MIB order, the committee will be responsible for carrying out an appraisal of the existing system, examine TRAI recommendations, overall industry scenario along with addressing the needs of stakeholders. The committee will be chaired by Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati.
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.
