News Broadcasting
Pakistan Cricket Board issues tender bid for Indo-Pak tour, seeks title sponsor
MUMBAI: The exact dates for India’s cricket tour of Pakistan have not been announced but anticipation over the clash of the arch-rivals is building up. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued a tender document regarding the submission of bids for in-stadia advertising and other rights.
The rights that are available include official/title sponsor of the test and one day series, radio broadcasting, live video streaming rights over the internet, food and beverage vending rights outside the venues, marquee and hospitality boxes. The PCB has further stated that it reserves the right to cancel or amend the bidding process at any stage. It can also reject bids without providing reasons. Ten Sports will have live coverage of the matches.
Bid documents may be obtained between 26-28 January after a non-refundable payment of $1000. The address is as follows:
Mr. Subhan Ahmed,
Pakistan Cricket Board,
Gaddafi Stadium,
Ferozpur Road,
Lahore.
Telephone number: 92 42 571 7231 /571 5008 / 111227 777
Email: pcboard@parnet4.ptc.pk
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.
