News Broadcasting
Prasar Bharati invites tenders for films based on festive themes
MUMBAI: National broadcaster Prasar Bharati has invited tenders for Hindi feature films based on festive themes to be telecast on DD 1 in the afternoon slot this year.
The notice placed by the pubcaster in today’s dailies says that Doordarshan is seeking movies based on Holi, Ram Navami, Mahavir Jayanthi, Buddha Purnima, Independence Day, Janmasthami, Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, Dussehra, Diwali, Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary, Id-ul-Fitr and Christmas.
The movies will be aired on DD 1 at 2.30 pm on the dates coinciding with the respective occasions.
Interested candidates can obtain the tender forms along with general terms and conditions, free of cost, from the facilitation counter at Prasar Bharti’s New Delhi office till 14 February. The forms can also be downloaded from the DD website.
The bids should reach the office latest by 5.00 pm on 14 February at the Prasar Bharati office. The sealed bids will be opened on 17 February in the Prasar Bharati Committee room in the presence of the representatives of the applicant companies.
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.
