News Broadcasting
Nicholas Kroll is BBC’s first director of governance
MUMBAI: Nicholas Kroll has been appointed the BBC’s first director of its governance unit. Kroll will set up and lead the Governors’ new department which will operate by supporting the Board.
BBC chairman Michael Grade said, “The appointment of Nicholas Kroll to this important role marks another step forward in implementing the changes to our governance system announced in building public value.
“After a thorough and open competition, Nicholas Kroll was the Governors’ unanimous choice. His intellectual rigour, broadcasting and wider public policy experience, and proven independence and objectivity will prove invaluable in setting up and directing the new governance unit.”
The new governance unit will include a greater range of expert and independent professionals. It will advise the BBC Governors board on the conduct of their duties and scrutinise proposals coming from management.
Kroll added, “I strongly believe that the BBC’s system of governance is the right system for maintaining a BBC that operates in the public interest and is independent from political and commercial pressures. The changes announced by the Board in June to modernise the way in which the Governors execute their responsibilities will ensure that British public continues to receive and enjoy the BBC it wants and deserves.”
Kroll is currently the UK department of culture, media and sport COO. He will take up his appointment at the BBC on 1 October 2004.
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.
