News Broadcasting
Pickleball league partners with top media houses
MUMBAI: Global Sports Pickleball (GSPB), one of India’s fastest-growing sports entities, has announced a powerful media alliance with The Times of India, Free Press Journal and Red FM to amplify the buzz for its upcoming 2025 season.
The Global Sports Pickleball League & Grand Slam will be held from 16 to 23 December 2025 at Mumbai’s Andheri Sports Complex, promising a week packed with energy, talent and a dash of sporting flair.
Under the partnership, Red FM joins as the official radio partner, driving airwave excitement with contests and listener engagement. The Times of India and Free Press Journal come onboard as official media partners, ensuring citywide visibility and editorial coverage. Additionally, Radio City will serve as the official radio partner for the Grand Slam, keeping fans tuned in through the tournament week.
Together, the collaborations form part of a 360-degree marketing blitz covering print, digital, radio, influencer tie-ups and on-ground activations to bring pickleball to every corner of the country.
“Pickleball is no longer just a sport, it’s a movement sweeping across India,” said Global Sports Pickleball director and co-founder, Hindi cinema writer, producer, Shashank Khaitan. “With the support of our esteemed partners, we’re giving the game the scale and visibility it truly deserves. The Global Sports Pickleball League & Grand Slam will set a new benchmark for how emerging sports are showcased and celebrated in India.”
The 2025 season will see top players from India and abroad compete across categories, from U-12 juniors to senior divisions, promising fans an electrifying sporting spectacle to close the year.
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.
