News Broadcasting
‘Simply Shekhar’ centrepiece of 3 new Zee shows set for debut
NEW DELHI:Close on the heels of Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India announcing four new shows, it is the turn of Zee TV to follow suit with three new programmes set to launch over the next few weeks.
Leading the pack for Zee will be The Simply Shekhar Show
(see earlier report Shekhar Suman turns producer with two shows on Zee ).
Zee is promising the show will take Shekhar’s original on SET – Movers & Shakers – a step further. A fun-filled variety entertainment show touching upon contemporary issues ranging from politics, sports, films, television, science and technology, research and weird inventions, music, business, etc within the country and all over the world in a light hearted manner is what The Simply Shekhar Show aims to be.
The other two shows Zee is launching are a soap – Love Marriage – and a gameshow of sorts – Karvaan Kismat Ka.
In The Simply Shekhar Show, apart from the anchor, a live band will share the stage along with three models who will add that touch of glamour.
Segment One will comprise Shekhar’s unique stand-up comedy routines as well as zany video gags and on-set gags featuring the best of comedians (Shekhar may or may not be involved in them).
The stand up jokes will be take offs and spoofs on actual and current news items across the world. Spoofs on ads, misprints in newspapers, topical issues like an invention in US or elsewhere, views expressed by eminent people etc. will be part of this section. All the jokes will make a direct reference to the news items they are based on.
The video gags, onset gags and street gags may or may not be topical in nature though. They may be based on general topics like men, women, relationships, astrology, Feng Shui, travel, fashion, etc. along with the topical stuff.
Segment Two will have celebrity interviews. In this segment, Shekhar will invite a special guest who has been in the news in the recent past. This segment will be a special addition depending on the situation (i.e. if there is any newsmaker worthy of being invited onto the set). Only people who have substantial achievements to their credit will be invited.
Segment Three involves live interaction with viewers, which will be done by Shekhar making random calls to them and conversing with them. It could also be a prank call to a celebrity. Call in facility will be provided on the sets so that viewers can call in on the show.
Special occasions will be created for Shekhar’s interaction with the audience like an auction for the audition and various other gags with audience.
The show – produced by Shekhar for Zee TV – launches 30 July and will air on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10:30 pm.
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.
