News Broadcasting
NBF demands BARC to urgently release news genre ratings
Mumbai: The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) has demanded BARC to resume the release of audience measurement data for the news genre which has been unilaterally withheld for almost a year.
While registering its demand in a letter addressed to BARC CEO Nakul Chopra, the NBF said, “As the only industry body the representing the business interest and editorial freedom of news TV channels, NBF strongly iterate to be included and consulted on all issues surrounding the release of TRP data for news genre.”
Listing major concerns on the issue, it stated that there was no legitimate reason or rationale for a pause in ratings for one specific genre. “If the process of BARC is faulty and is being reworked, the entertainment and other genres which contribute 88 per cent continue to get the rating data. However, the news genre which constitutes only 12 per cent has been victimised; though the metering boxes and data collection is common for all genres,” the federation said.
The NBF also alleged that vested corporate interests are overshadowing industry welfare, and this has caused a loss of credibility and revenue to the news genre. In addition, news broadcasters are losing the trust of the viewers and the advertisers are increasingly suspicious about the genuine performance of the channels.
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: 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.
