News Broadcasting
Praveen Swami, Gaurav Kalra join Network 18 at senior positions
MUMBAI: Network 18 recently announced the appointment of Praveen Swami as a group consulting editor and Gaurav Kalra as a networksports editor. On his role, Swami will work across platforms, writing in digital and appearing as a resident commentator on TV and Kalra will look after the coverage across brands and platforms and also oversee the task of positioning and expanding CricketNext.com as the foremost hub for cricket enthusiasts.
Prior to Network 18 Swami worked with Indian Express were he was the strategic affairs editor and produced both reportage and analytical commentary on a range of stories related to regional security and geo-strategies. Swami has also worked with The Hindu were he wasresident editor and strategic affairs editor. He is an acclaimed writer having authored two books – An Informal War: India, Pakistan and the Secret Jihad in Jammu and Kashmir and The Kargil War.
Kalra was at ESPNCricinfo as a senior editor. He was also the sports editor at CNN-IBN from 2005 and 2013. He started his career in 1997 with the UK based sports production company Trans World International.
Commenting on his new role Kalra said, “I am looking forward to my second stint at Network18. CricketNext.com has already established a strong presence among the cricket audience and I look forward to leading the effort to expand the scale and scope of the coverage on the platform.”
Kalra is a TV veteran and an accomplished writer. His columns have featured on various platforms including the Economic Times and Quint.
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.
