News Broadcasting
Star News lines-up slew of programmes on Bihar election saga
MUMBAI: With the Bihar going to polls this month, Star News will provide coverage of the polls with continuous updates, live on-ground debates, opinion polls, exit polls and much more. Star News has lined up a slew of special programming to keep viewers abreast of the twists and turns of an election that promises its fair share of intrigue from 10 October.
A dedicated half hour special election bulletin – Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri, which will air at 5:30 pm. on weekdays.
The saga of Bihar election coverage is aimed at inquiring whether or not these elections will be conclusive, given that the last elections held in Bihar early this year resulted in a hung house for the State and did not yield a chief minister.
The other shows that will be on air to cover the saga of Bihar election, a live debate – Kahiye Netaji – this will be a series of live on-ground debates. Pehli Tasveer -opinion poll – an exclusive pre-elections opinion poll of what the aam junta feels, Pehli Tasveer will air on October 10th at 8.30pm. This will aim to give the possible picture that could emerge for the upcoming leg of elections and the consequent final result. Taaza Tasveer -exit poll – the exit poll results will be aired between 5 pm to 7 pm on every election day.
Aapka Hukm -counting – the show will air on the day of the counting, 22 November, this special bulletin will provide continuous updates on the tally of votes throughout the day and feature an expert post poll analysis.
The four-stage elections in Bihar, which has a population of 85 million people, will commence on 18 October and conclude on 19 November, with counting of votes set to begin on 22 November.
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.
