News Broadcasting
Pogo to entice Indian kids with Harry Potter this summer
MUMBAI: What better way to get pester power into action than show the ultimate kid’s cult classic – Harry Potter – on your channel.
Pogo, which has made a none-too-auspicious Indian debut (distribution problems what else) on New Year’s Day, is all set to premiere the mega blockbuster movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on Indian television.
Harry Potter will air on Pogo just as Indian kids finish their exams and get into the holiday mood this summer. Now if that doesn’t get demand going nothing will.
Pogo acquired the India rights from Warner Brothers International Television Distribution. The management believes that this will help it further strengthen its programming line-up which includes award-winning shows such as Barney & Friends, Teletubbies Everywhere, Boohbah and Walking With franchise.
Says Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, Inc senior vice president and general manager Ian Diamond, “Acquiring the television rights for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone exclusively for Pogo audiences is a proud moment for us at the channel. We are extremely excited about this and are positive that our young viewers and their families will feel the same. The movie is a global phenomenon and premiering the same for television is an indication and a strong affirmation of our commitment of bringing world-class and magical programming on Pogo.”
Pogo, distributed by Zee Turner, is broadcast via the PAS-10 satellite.
Meanwhile, the Turner Broadcasting Inc (TBS) management today announced that it has signed on conditional access technology provider Conax to provide with the necessary tech for Pogo in India. TBS will use the Conax CAS5 conditional access technology for broadcasting the new kids service as a direct to operator (DTO) operation to Indian cable networks.
Saya Conax AS COO and executive vice president Ole Hansvold, “Conax is very pleased to have teamed up with Turner Broadcasting. We are looking forward to working with Turner to facilitate the distribution of their Pogo channel to the Asian market.”
Added TBS International Inc executive vice president – Distribution Technology Alastair Hamilton, “Partnering with Conax makes sense. Their recent popularity in Asia, and the ease with which we could integrate a Conax encrypted channel into our existing multiplex made them our first choice. We’re excited to work with Conax and look forward to developing a strong business relationship.”
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.
