News Broadcasting
Sankraman Studios reopened; shooting to resume on 21 February
MUMBAI: Following a court order, the Maharashtra government has reopened the Sankraman studios, which it had sealed on 14 February.
In response to a writ petition filed by Sankraman studios, the interim order was given on 17 February. The studio is on lease from the government. The Court, which postponed the hearing to 14 March, asked the government to maintain the statusquo during the interim period.
The government reportedly sealed seven studios of Sankraman Telefilms at Aarey Colony in Mumbai as the lease period of three years got expired. Balaji Studios, which sub-leased four of the studios from Sankraman, has been shooting Kkyunki Saans bhi kabhi bahu thi, Kahani ghar ghar ki, K Street Pali Hill, Kusum, Kavyanjali and Kasauti Zindagi Ke and Kartika at the studios when the sealing took place.
Balaji Telefilms general manager Umesh Yadav claimed that the developments didn’t affect Balaji’s shooting schedules. “We have other studios at our disposal. We have been shooting the serials in our other studios. Balaji has a godown and two sets near the Sankraman Studio premises. Then we have Balaji Telefilms Studio in Unit No. 2 of Aarey Colony,” he said.
Sankraman studio general manager Sanjay Bhatia, who confirmed about the government reopening the studios, said the shooting would resume on 21 February. “All the payments to the government have been up-to-date and still it went ahead and sealed the studios without any prior notice. The honourable Court accepted our argument and allowed us to continue with our work till the next hearing,” he added.
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.
