News Broadcasting
Off-Centre: Tamil writer Vaasanthi to discuss life of J Jayalalithaa
MUMBAI: On the upcoming episode of the show — Off-Centre, the life and times of late Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa will be sicussed with the popular Tamil writer and journalist Vaasanthi. The episode will air on 17 December at 8 pm with a repeat on 18 December at 12:30 pm and 9:30 pm on CNN News18.
In a candid conversation with the host of the show, Anuradha SenGupta, Vaasanthi says that the rest of India will view Jayalalithaa as a very powerful, dynamic and determined leader who was never a good ally to national parties.
Vaasanthi’s biography — “Amma – Jayalalithaa’s Journey from Movie Star to Political Queen” is a bestseller. Vaasanthi adds that Jayalalitha’s character was fascinating. According to her, “People think that she entered politics very reluctantly, but then she was a born politician. She knew exactly what her next move would be, how she would behave, how she would treat her opponents, rivals, allies, she knew. That was amazing.”
Vaasanthi also talks about the unique nature of Tamil politics and the people’s outlook that let an actor who is a Brahmin become the head of an organisation which had its roots in a movement which was anti-Brahmin. She added that Tamils accepted Jayalalithaa and her mentor MGR although they were Malayalis.
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.
