News Broadcasting
NDTV India ban: SC to hear appeal on 5 Dec; govt may restructure review panel
MUMBAI: It is not going to be easy to gag the freedom of press. NDTV India’s appeal against the one-day ban on its Hindi channel will be heard next month by the Supreme Court.
NDTV has challenged the ban for violating the constitutional right to free speech and expression.
Appearing for NDTV, Fali Nariman, one of India’s most reputed lawyers, said that, because the government has suspended the ban, there was no urgent need for the court to stay the government’s order that called for a 24-hour ban and that the case could be heard a month later, during which NDTV expects the government to take a final decision.
The government on November 7 put on hold its order asking NDTV India not to telecast for 24 hours starting 9 November for allegedly flouting norms.
The Supreme Court adjourned the hearing to December 5 as Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told Justice A.K. Sikri that there was no real urgency as their plea (by NDTV) for review of the decision was being considered by the government.
The ban was put on hold by the government after representatives of NDTV met with Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu. NDTV reiterated that its Hindi channel did not broadcast sensitive details of the terror attack on the Pathankot air base.
The information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry said it was weighing restructuring the inter-ministerial committee (IMC) which reviews cases of violations in the broadcast media. The ministry was facing criticism for directing NDTV India to go off air for a day.
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.
