News Broadcasting
Nalin Mehta appointed chief AI officer at Network18
MUMBAI: Network18 has appointed Nalin Mehta as its chief AI officer (editorial operations), adding another milestone to his expansive career across journalism, academia, and public policy. Mehta, who also serves as managing editor at moneycontrol, will now lead the integration of artificial intelligence in editorial workflows across the group.
With over two decades in Indian media, Mehta has held senior editorial positions at some of the country’s top news organisations. He was executive editor of The Times of India’s digital operations and managing editor at India Today TV. He has also served as group consulting editor at Network18.
Outside the newsroom, Mehta has held academic roles including dean and professor at the School of Modern Media, UPES, and associate professor at Shiv Nadar University. He is currently a non-resident senior fellow at the Institute of south Asian studies (National University of Singapore), and a member of the economic advisory council to the prime minister.
His work has spanned media strategy, digital innovation, public policy, and research—making this move into AI-driven editorial systems a logical progression. As AI reshapes newsrooms globally, Mehta’s role positions him at the intersection of journalism and technology in one of India’s largest media networks.
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.
