News Broadcasting
News key TV consumption driver, but declines on weekly performance
MUMBAI: For the straight sixth week, the news genre continues to be the television consumption driver; it has grown by over 160 per cent in the week 16, says the sixth edition joint report of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India – Nielsen India. However, the news broadcasters continue to fall marginally in terms of viewership week-on-week basis.
This week, the Hindi news channels fell by over 11 per cent while English dropped by 4 per cent. The COVID period has given news channels an upper hand to gain in viewership than other genres but has been failing to sustain its weekly performance and tumbled for the straight fourth week now.
Slipping to the fourth spot from the second, ABP News fell most of the top five Hindi news channels by over 20 per cent to 211,859 weekly impressions in week 16. While despite being the most-watched channel for the sixteenth week in a row, Aaj Tak declined by over 15 per cent to 295700 weekly impressions in week 16, followed by Zee News, which slumped by 13 per cent in the current week to 211294 impressions. Zee Media’s Hindi news channel has retained its position in the top five list.
Retaining its third position, India TV fell marginally by over 6 per cent to 233, 017 weekly impressions in week 16. For the first time so far this year, Republic Bharat has outperformed all its peers except Aaj Tak to become the second most-watched Hindi news channel with almost the same viewership numbers that of last week. It secured 244,354 weekly impressions in week 16. The channel’s prime-time debate show Poochta Hai Bharat has become most-watched in terms of viewership in week 16.
The English news channels reported a mixed performance in the current week as three news channels out of the top five registered marginal growth, while the other two fell substantially.
Republic TV, Times Now, and CNN-News18 grew marginally this week by over seven, five, and six per cent respectively as compared to week 15. Republic TV has continued its dominance of being the most-watched English news channel, followed by Times Now, which had slipped to third position last week, has regained its second position week 16. CNN-News18 failed to get featured last week in the top five English news channels and has reclaimed its stand at the fourth position in the current week.
Zee Media’s English news channel WION, securing the fifth position in the top five list, has tumbled substantially by over 30 per cent in terms of viewership. The channels gained 415 impressions in week 16 as compared to 600 impressions in the previous week. While India Today fall back to its third position after climbing one spot up, it declined by over 18 per cent to 837 weekly impressions in the current week as compared to 1031 impressions in the earlier week of BARC.
BARC-Nielsen India has been coming up with television and digital consumption report every week. The report compares the current lockdown period to week two to four (11-31 January) of BARC, which is termed as pre-Covid2019 period.
Says the sixth edition of BARC-Nielsen report: “News enjoys a higher share in megacities in week 16 in the premium panel; its viewership during prime-time across megacities is higher.” It further adds that the ad volume in news genre by language grew marginally as against pre-Covid2019 period, the highest growth is registered in Hindi, English, Gujarati and Oriya news market
News Broadcasting
Rising Bharat Summit 2026 spotlights India’s global ascent
PM Modi keynotes two-day event with ministers, diplomats and icons in New Delhi.
MUMBAI: India didn’t just host a summit, it threw a coming-out party for a nation ready to own the global stage. The News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2026, held on 27–28 February in New Delhi, emerged as a high-octane platform for ideas, vision and strategic dialogue, uniting national leadership, global policymakers, industry titans, defence strategists and cultural icons under the theme “Strength Within”.
Prime minister Narendra Modi set the tone with a keynote that framed India’s resurgence as a reclaiming of lost potential built over generations. “In previous industrial revolutions, India and the Global South were merely followers,” he said. “But in the era of Artificial Intelligence, India is a partner in decisions and shaping them.” He highlighted the country’s thriving AI startup ecosystem and the recent AI Impact Summit attended by over 100 nations.
Union minister Piyush Goyal (Commerce & Industry) stressed India’s readiness to scale exports and deepen manufacturing, while Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways, I&B, Electronics & IT) positioned technology and infrastructure as twin engines of growth, especially in AI and digital trust. Jyotiraditya Scindia (Communications & North East Development) revealed India’s ambition to lead in 6G through the Bharat 6G Alliance and partnerships with over 30 countries.
Global voices added depth: former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo called India’s development “self-sustaining” and strategically vital; ex-UK Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter asserted India deserves a seat at the great powers’ table; and former US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez joined ambassadors from Norway, Germany and Sweden in discussions on geopolitical realignment, sustainability and defence preparedness.
Other speakers included veteran investor Ramesh Damani, World Gold Council CEO David Tait, Vianai Systems founder Dr Vishal Sikka, DeepTech Bharat Foundation co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati, defence experts Rajesh Kumar Singh, Sunil Ambekar, Patrick McGee, Tom Cooper and Adrian Fontanellaz, plus cultural and sporting icons Kangana Ranaut, Saina Nehwal, PR Sreejesh, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mithali Raj, Anil Kapoor and Yami Gautam.
The summit was supported by Jio Financial Services (Presenting Partner), Phonepe and DS Group (Co-Presenting Partners), Pernod Ricard India and Kia Seltos (Powered By & Driven By), state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand (State Partners), and associate partners including NSE, M3M Foundation and Reliance Industries.
Broadcast live across News18 Network, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, the event reinforced India’s image as a confident democracy and emerging global power proving that when strength comes from within, the world can’t help but watch.
