News Broadcasting
Nittin Keni returns to head films division at Zee
NEW DELHI:Its homecoming of the prodigal, of sorts..
The Subhash Chandra-controlled Zee Telefilms has brought in Nittin Keni as the chief executive of its films division.
Keni shall be the head of the entire film business, including production of motion pictures, co-ventures, setting-up of domestic and overseas distribution network.
In addition, his company, Nittin Keni Creations Pvt. Ltd., has been contracted to produce two feature films per year for the Zee group and he would also be responsible for synergising film production and distribution initiatives with Padmalaya Telefilms Ltd, in which the Chandra company bought controlling stakes a few years ago.
Commenting on his appointment, Keni, who produced the blockbuster mainstream film Gadar- Ek Prem Katha, today said, My priority at Zee will be to create a sound, transparent and efficient global distribution network for our feature films. My main concern is piracy, which is rampant and the No. 1 scourge of the film business.
As part of an initiative against piracy, Keni is slated to soon lead a film delegation to Delhi to take up the matter with the central government.
Keni is an engineer and post-graduate in management from Indian Institute of Management , Kolkata. He was with NFDC before joining Zee at its inception. His return to Zee Network is at a significant time when the network is ready to take up larger challenges, new initiatives and respond to opportunities with unique synergy and strength as Indias largest vertically integrated media and entertainment company, media experts opined.
Keni, a well-known film and television professional, was the first executive president of Zee and the first CEO of Zee Cinema when it was launched in 1995. He was also involved in creating durable television properties like Zee Horror Show, amongst others, and executed film projects like Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aai, Aisi Bhi Kya Jaldi Hai and Fareb.
Zee Network with the overall objective of contributing to significant global positioning of Indian cinema, has decided to enlarge its operations in the field of production and distribution of Indian films, both mainstream and cross-over, within India as well as overseas.
Zee Telefilms Limited is India’s largest vertically integrated media and entertainment company. Zee has an integrated range of businesses, encompassing the content-to-consumer value chain of media and entertainment business.
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.
