News Broadcasting
Post Reliance Industries’ takeover, ICRA revises Network18’s ratings
MUMBAI: It was only a few days ago that Reliance Industries announced the takeover of Network18, and the effects of the acquisition can already be seen. In a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the media house has said that independent and professional investment and credit rating agency ICRA has revised its current ratings of the company.
Network18 media and investments’ long term rating has been changed from ICRA BBB+ to ICRA A. Meanwhile its short term rating which was at ICRA A2+ is now at ICRA A1+. This for Rs 140 crore bank facilities of the company. “The outlook on the long-term ratings is revised from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’,” states the announcement.
The fixed deposit programme of the company has been revised from MA- to MA with its outlook on the medium term rating revised from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’. The commercial paper of Rs 100 crore of the company was reaffirmed as ICRA A1+.
On the other hand, Network18’s subsidiary TV18 also saw its ratings being revised. The credit rating for the fixed deposit of the company has been revised from MA- to MA with medium term outlook changed from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’.
The long-term rating for bank facilities of Rs 370 crore of the company has from ICRA BBB+ changed to ICRA A. Outlook on long-term rating is revised from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’.
Credit rating for the commercial paper of Rs 200 crore has been reaffirmed as ICRA A1+.
Reliance Industries has now given an open offer that will go on till July.
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.
