News Broadcasting
Rainbow Media signs deals for Mag Rack Vod content
MUMBAI: US media firm Rainbow Media Holdings has added international broadcasters to the growing reach of its Mag Rack video-on-demand (Vod) content.
The latest round of deals delivers several Mag Rack titles into the UK, Sweden, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the Middle East. Continuing Rainbow’s international expansion, the deals represent 319 VOD segments.
Launched in 2001 in the US, Mag Rack is an on-demand television service, delivering made-for-Vod programming. Mag Rack is available to 12 million on-demand customers in 50 US markets, and several of its series were sold into Scandinavia, Hungary and Greece earlier this year.
iD MD Sally Miles says, “Our continued momentum with Rainbow’s stable of brands is truly a testament to the international appeal of this top-quality programming. With Mag Rack, buyers are getting a rich array of series that speak to the diverse tastes of their viewers’ evolving, on-the-go lifestyles. Mag Rack is a truly progressive brand to be working with in the VOD marketplace.”
The newest round of international Mag Rack deals includes:
Inside Weddings has been Sold to Wedding TV (UK), TV7 (Sweden), Club Channel (Poland & Hungary), CTC Domashy Network (Russia) and Spektrum (Czech Republic). The show has advice on everything from gowns and formal wear, flowers and photography to places to celebrate.
Mama Gena has been sold to TV7 (Sweden) and Club Channel (Central & Eastern Europe). In this “school of womanly arts,” Mama Gena’s lessons teach women to take control of their power of pleasure to have their way with the world and men, with each episode offering new tips and techniques.
Eight segments of Wild Wheels have been sold to TV4 (Sweden) and 24 sold to Prava/Prevodi (Bosnia & Herzegovina). This series takes viewers into a world of crazy cars—rock crawlers, aqua cars, modified stretch limos, mud/ice racers and more—for a drive on the wild side.
Let’s Go Garden has been sold to ACE (Russia). Let’s Go Garden, hosted by Jackie Albarella. This focusses on the practical side of gardening with projects real people can achieve whether a beginning gardener or a passionate green thumb.
Motorcycle Freedom has been sold to Ananey (Israel). These short segment programs take viewers onto the open road with a virtual ride on some of the latest superbikes.
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.
