News Broadcasting
Republic to operate in six languages by March 2021
NEW DELHI: Republic Media Network will be operating in six languages, including its existing Hindi and English portfolio, by March 2021, Arnab Goswami told Indiantelevision.com in a fireside chat with its founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari.
“We are going to be operating in six languages on digital platforms by early next year and we are also looking at broadcast options and are open to doing partnerships, ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and controlling equity for that. Our business team is exploring all the options,” Goswami elaborated.
He shared that the plans have got a little delayed because of the Covid2019 pandemic but the team is actively working on expanding the Republic offerings across the country.
However, right now, his priority is strengthening Republic Bharat’s digital presence. “I have invested in real estate and teams and am planning to launch Republic Bharat on a digital platform in a big way,” he said.
Goswami noted that the larger plan is to take Republic to each and every corner of the country and work in at least 10 Indian languages.
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.
