News Broadcasting
Mobile to dominate on day 4 of MIPTV
MUMBAI: Sessions on mobile TV takes center stage on day four of MIPTV featuring MILIA, kicking off with Convergence of Mobile & TV: What’s Happening in Japan?
Set to take place at 9 15 pm., the session will see NTT DoCoMo’s senior VP and managing director of multimedia services Takeshi Natsuno, discussing the company’s plans for mobile television, including business models and relationships with content providers.
That session is followed at 10 am by Mobi Wars!: Mobile TV Business Models & Value Chain Evolution, exploring the various models that content companies can utilize in the mobile space. Moderated by freelance journalist Mark Halper, the session will feature MediaCorp Studios’ MD Melvin Ang; Walt Disney Internet Group VP and MD Attila Gazdag, Jamba VP of marketing and COO Martin Ott, Virgin Mobile head of corporate development Gwyn Roberts, Ericsson Mobility World VP Kurt Sillen, SFR EVP of marketing and mass-market customers Jean-Marc Tassetto and ITN Multimedia MD Nicholas Wheeler.
At 1130 am, Jessica Sandin, a senior consultant at Fathom Partners in the U.K., will moderate Mobility & Content: Entertainment Everywhere!, exploring new distribution platforms. Panelists include TV Norge’s head of new media Thomas Houge; Google Video EMEA’s head of content partnerships Patrick Walker and Nokia SVP of multimedia experiences Ilkka Raiskinen
Afternoon sessions include Interactive Mobile TV, The Next Frontier? at 2 30 pm, to be moderated by Endemol U.K.’s MD of digital media Peter Cowley, and featuring 3 Italia’s director of digital content Massimiliano de Carolis; 3’s director of content partnerships Mark Nichols and NRK’s director of mobile content and services Bjarne Andre Myklebust, among others.
At the same time, Brian Seth Hurst, the CEO of The Opportunity Management Company, will moderate User Generated Content: The Next Big Thing in Media. Panelists include Channel 4’s new media managing editor Andy Grumbridge and Extreme Sports’ MD Phil Jones, among others.
Asia, in particular India, takes center stage in the 4 pm panel Mobile Content Distribution & Revenue Opportunities, moderated by Ferhan Cook, the president of MediaPlay International. The second panel at 4 pm, Developing & Delivering Content Across Platforms, What Does it Take? will be moderated by the American Film Institute’s SVP of media and technology Nick Demartino. Panelists include the chairman and founder of The Interactive Channel Robert Chua and Enteraction TV’s business development director James Penfold.
At 5 15 pm, Headway International partner Serge Schick will moderate Information & News At The Forefront of Broadband Content Genres: What Are The New Deals, And How Are They Shaking Up The Broadband Content Value Chain? Panelists are APTN’s MD Nigel Baker; Yahoo! Europe’s VP of media and communications Jon Gisby and France Televisions Interactive’s GM Laurent Souloumiac.
Also taking place are the Content 360° pitching sessions for multimedia content. The BBC is hosting its sessions at 115 pm (Rich Media-Made for Mobile); 2 30 pm (Web 2.0-Next Generation Collaborative Web Concepts); and 5 15 pm (Total Mobile & User Generated Content). KBC will host its session, Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), Mobile Content and Applications, at 4 pm The pitch sessions culminate with the Content 360° Zapping Show at 7 pm, when the winning projects selected by the BBC, KBS and NFB will be announced.
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.
