News Broadcasting
‘New government should lay foundation for improving relationship with media industry’
MUMBAI: The relationship between the media and entertainment industry and the government has “broken”. The industry and the new government that would be formed after the general elections should lay a new foundation for improving the relationship.
That was the clarion call by Star India CEO and FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee Chairman Uday Shankar in his opening remarks at the 15th FICCI-Frames in Mumbai.
Unless all the stakeholders get together for the betterment of the industry, the vibrancy of the media and entertainment sector will be at stake and the biggest victim will be free expression, said Shankar.
He asked, “Why not nourish an industry that has huge potential? Why not support an industry that needs policy support and nor resources support?”
The media and entertainment industry needs recognition that it is a potential economic growth engine and a force multiplier, he stated.
He said the media and entertainment industry grew by 12 per cent in 2013 despite economic headwinds and added “it is a testament to the tenacity of the industry.”
There is now tension between the media and entertainment industry and the government with the successive governments limiting free speech, he said.
Surprisingly, irrespective of the party, the media has been at the receiving end. “Whether you trumpet youth leaders or the state leaders, media is asked to be accountable,” Shankar said.
He also pointed out that the media created a political party out of thin air and put it in power, but eventually the same outfit has started making accusations against the media the moment accountability was sought.
The government has not been able to harness the potential of the media and before the elections kick starts there needs to be a new “contract” between the media industry and the government, Shankar said.
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.
