News Broadcasting
‘Piya Ka Ghar’ to debut on Zee in December
MUMBAI: It appears like a repeat of last year’s programming strategy, albeit in slow motion.
Zee is again introducing new shows at a fast pace, although unlike last year, not all are being launched at the same time. After the announcement of the launch of Astitva, to be made by Ajai Sinha, comes news that another series, Piya Ka Ghar will make its debut on the channel on 2 December.
The new serial, starring Alok Nath, Sulbha Arya, Prachee Shah and others is being made by Shreya Creations and has been allotted an afternoon slot. According to producer Sheel Kumar, the serial will be aired at 2 pm (the time when Gharana – a serial that is one of the more successful of the current crop of shows on Zee. Gharana ends its run by the end of this month.
To be directed by Chander Bahl (who also directed Gharana), Piya Ka Ghar dwells on the oft trodden territory of two families from a village who have a long friendship between them. The problems arise when the next generation grows up. Kumar who says that over 30 episodes of the serial have already been shot, says the daily show has been granted an initial run of one year by the channel.
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.
