News Broadcasting
Race for eyeballs hots up among news channels as polls draw closer
News channels are girding their loins as they get ready to fight for viewership during the assembly elections in four states scheduled this month.
While Sahara has already announced elaborate coverage plans, Aaj Tak, the channel that claims the top slot among news channels, too has unveiled a meticulous strategy it plans to deploy to ensure the best poll coverage.
The channel has devised a comprehensive strategy to bring the assembly live to the nation, say officials. Dubbed Aap Ka Faisla, the coverage has started on 24 January and will continue till counting culminates on 24 February.
According to the channel, the election programming initiative has been split into three parts. The pre-election coverage will encompass the campaigns and will cover factors that could influence the elections, through a half hour programme titled Voton Ka Bandar Bant, to be aired daily between 10:30 and 11 pm. The programme includes a psephological analysis and includes a pre poll survey done for the channel by C-Voter. Anchor Gaurav Banerjee and C-Voter’s Yashwant Deshmukh, along with expert panels comprising Prabhu Chawla and other invitees will analyse the scenario on the basis of historical data. This will include regional trends, caste break-up and political parties involved. Aaj Tak has also created an exclusive Election Room for the purpose where all data are being explained with the help of maps and graphics, say channel sources.
The second phase will involve the actual election day coverage as well as the exit polls on 13, 14, 18 and 21 February. Chunav Ke Rang, a half hour programme, will attempt to convey the livelier aspects of the entire election exercise, including interviews with chief ministers, past and present, young aspirants in the fray and will touch upon subjects like the entry of criminals in politics, giving viewers an insight into the political games and strategies. The channel is also running a special profile section called Maharathi, which will profile the political careers of some of the key players in the fray.
On the day of the results, the channel will run a round-the-clock programme subtitled Chunav Ke Akhare Se. Studio guests, five OB vans placed at strategic locations and graphics for trends and results will be employed to make the live coverage interesting. The channel, a part of the India Today group well known for its indepth election coverage, has 12 complete units at important locations along with five OB vans; apart from the existing Aaj Tak bureau offices to cover the elections live. Satellite and landline connections are being put to maximum use, says 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.
