News Broadcasting
NDTV & Piramal Foundation launch campaign highlighting farmers’ issues
MUMBAI: NDTV and Piramal Foundation have started a crusade aiming at highlighting farmer related issues and finding ways to address the severe problem. The campaign – Cultivating Hope – will raise awareness about the adversities faced by farmers in India and find ways to overcome challenges.
The campaign is also supported by Akshay Kumar and will talk about all the problems of the farmers from scarcity of water to lack of education to the severe lack of basic healthcare, especially for women. It will address the situation and find ways to overcome these challenges by adapting to solutions.
NDTV group CEO Vikram Chandra said, “NDTV has always been a frontrunner in highlighting issues that concern our country. Be it related to the environment, or about the education of underprivileged, we have always believed in addressing these social issues that are an obstacle to our development. TheCultivating Hope initiative is yet another endeavour to give our farmers a platform to discuss and address the issues faced by them and help them find solutions. We are hopeful that together with the Piramal Foundation we will be able to not only raise awareness about their adversities but also pave the way forward through viable solutions.”
Supporting the campaign, Akshay Kumar added, “The farmer crisis is the most important issue and we need to address it on high priority. I am glad to be part of this dialogue and am willing to contribute to the cause, to the best of my abilities.”
“Under the given circumstances, it is the need of the hour that we focus our energy on how to find solutions for our farmers and under privileged. Through various initiatives, the Piramal Foundation has focused on providing quality education for children, empowering the young generation to recognise and develop their leadership skills, healthcare for women and access to basic facilities like clean drinking water to villages and midday meals to school children. Through such initiatives, we hope to secure the future of our farmers. I am happy to be associated with NDTV in Cultivating Hope,” added Piramal Group chairman Ajay Piramal.
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.
