News Broadcasting
MTV to host global forum with Colin Powell
MTV Networks International has announced that next month US secretary of state Colin Powell will participate in an international global forum through the channel. The 60-minute forum will have young people from America, India, the Middle East, Italy, UK/Ireland, Brazil and Russia grilling Powell on the war on terrorism.
The forum will be available globally to 164 territories with MTV channels reaching 374.7 million households, an official release states. Studio audiences will gather at respective MTV locations around the world, where local MTV news correspondents and VJs will facilitate a Q&A via satellite with Powell. Viewers can also send their questions online. MTV US will serve as host location for Powell in Washington DC where MTV news anchors John Norris and Gideon Yago will moderate.
Speaking on the reason for the initiative Colin Powell made the following remarks: “Young people have long been one of my top priorities, and never more so than now. The world’s youth are not only our future but also our greatest hope for solving long-term problems and for building vitally needed understanding between peoples and cultures. I look forward to speaking one-on-one with young people from across the world in this unique forum to discuss world affairs.”
President, MTV Group and chairman, Interactive Music, MTV: Music Television Judy McGrath said: “From our post-September 11 programming, our forum with New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to our Choose or Lose and Rock the Votework, giving a voice to young people and access to world leaders is something that we are very passionate about. We look forward to a lively and open exchange about the issues that young people around the world are facing at this time in history.”
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.
