News Broadcasting
Oprah Winfrey to foray into reality series on ABC Entertainment
MUMBAI: Talk show host Oprah Winfrey plans to enter into the reality space with two shows tentatively tilted Oprah Winfrey’s The Big Give and Your Money or Your Life. This announcement was made jointly by Harpo Productions and Disney owned ABC Entertainment.
To be rolled out as eight-episode show, Oprah Winfrey’s The Big Give will challenge 10 people to take the money and resources they are given and multiply them to come up with the most powerful, sensational, emotional and dramatic ways to give to others.
An official release stated that each week the group will face a “big catch” that will test their nerve, drive, ingenuity and passion. The stakes will get higher, with one person ultimately being chosen to have his/her wildest dream come true for making the biggest impact. The series will center on the drama, emotion and magic of making a difference in peoples’ lives.
In addition, the two companies are also developing the primetime series Your Money or Your Life. Each week will feature families facing a life crisis. They will need to make drastic and immediate changes before they are consumed by disaster. In every episode, an expert action team will move in and viewers will watch a dramatic total money and life makeover.
“Less than 100 days since we launched our new television development group, we’re delighted to be announcing our first two primetime series,” said Harpo Productions president Tim Bennett.
“Oprah Winfrey getting into series TV is monumental. Our relationship with Harpo has been wonderful for us, and this latest partnership takes it to a phenomenal new level,” said ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson. “These two shows are a perfect fit for our alternative brand with their focus on wish fulfillment and making lives better. I can’t wait to get started.”
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.
