News Broadcasting
NDTV’s carnival truck brings flavour to election result
Mumbai: NDTV captivated viewers with its innovative and engaging special coverage of the General Elections 2024, featuring its election carnival truck. To mark the counting day on 4 June 2024, NDTV came up with a distinctive approach to election coverage by infusing culinary elements into their reporting, seamlessly blending the political discourse with gastronomical delights.
The unique set-up held at the NDTV premises, featured a unique collaboration with an array of partners such as PVR, Biryani by Kilo, Urban Vada Pav, Sitaram Diwan Chand – Chole Bhature, and Chaat Masters, delivering an irresistible feast of mouth-watering foods from across the nation and offered a rich tapestry of India’s diverse culinary heritage. From the flavourful Chhole Bhature and Aloo Tikki of Delhi to the beloved Vada Pav and Pani Puri of Bombay, NDTV’s coverage brilliantly encapsulated the essence of India’s culinary diversity.
Against this vibrant backdrop, NDTV anchors and analysts provided insightful discussions on the election results from various states. The channel presented a fusion of political analysis and rich cultural & culinary experience. This distinctive approach not only highlighted the regional cuisines but also made NDTV’s election coverage a unique and memorable event. This initiative garnered significant interest from NDTV’s viewers, as it offered them a fresh perspective on how media can creatively engage with their audience across states.
This was the conclusion of NDTV’s election carnival, a vibrant celebration of democratic enthusiasm and civic engagement, that marked an extraordinary journey across India. It captivated hearts and minds as it travelled the carnival originally planned to cover 5,000 kilometers, but due to its overwhelming reception, the route was extended to over 11,000 kilometers, reaching more than 50 cities non-stop over the past 30 days.
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.
