News Broadcasting
NGC signs deal with Japan’s J:Com TV digital service
MUMBAI: The National Geographic Channel (NGC) will be available on the J:Com TV Digital service in Japan as of 1 June 2005
The new deal will enable the broadcaster to reach out to an additional 300,000+ subscribers in Japan. NGC Asia MD & executive VP Ward Platt said, “We are delighted to launch on J:Com, Japan’s largest MSO. We are very excited that more and more viewers in Japan will be able to enjoy National Geographic Channel”
NGC is one of the four new channels J:Com is adding onto its popular Digital pack which currently consists of 43 channels. The J:Com TV Digital service rolled out in April last year. News Broadcasting Japan (NBJ) manages the NGC business in Japan.
NBJ senior VP and GM Frank Foley says, “In conjunction with the new distribution launch, National Geographic Channel will feature exclusive programs in July for J:COM viewers. We are also planning a series of National Geographic events, lecture and workshops in the J:COM service areas.”
He adds that NGC is aggressively pursuing efforts in developing and realizing HD and on demand services. NGC is also leveraging cross media opportunities with various Nikkei National Geographic publications including the National Geographic Magazine Japanese edition (a JV of National Geographic Society and Nikkei BP), to add value to J:Com’s subscription acquisition efforts.
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.
