News Broadcasting
TBN to push its faith message in west, north
CHENNAI: Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is gearing up to promote its faith channel TBN India in the western and northern parts of the country. TBN channel will be separating from the existing MiracleNet channel, which is already available in some parts of the country.
Reverend Dr Sishwa Prasad, based in Chennai, is the India coordinator.
In an attempt to increase its visibility and presence amongst cable operators, MSOs and viewers in different parts of India, the channel’s distribution team is organising a TBN-Cable operators meet – 2003 on 24 February at Leela Hotel, near Sahar Airport, Mumbai. TBN will also distribute a free receiver and dish to all the members of the trade who register before 20 February 2003.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com, TBN India sales manager Kumar Thomas confirmed that they are planning to promote the free-to-air faith channel in the western and northern parts of the country from 24 February 2003. TBN has already conducted a lot of promotional activities in South India.
“The channel has a variety of programmes; health and fitness; shows for children; humorous shows, news and commentary; speciality shows and serials. However, the ‘religious’ component will be around 80 per cent of the total content. The channel will also provide general news from CBN network,” adds Thomas.
TBN began in 1973 with an intention to build a Christian television network across the globe. It claims to be the world’s largest Christian television network. Across America and around the world, TBN is carried by TV stations and cable systems to millions of homes. As a matter of fact, TBN is seen on over 3,171 television stations, 21 satellites, the Internet and thousands of cable systems around the world, says an official statement.
In India, the Hindujas’ IN Network started distributing MiracleNet in 1999. The channel, which receives funding from various churches, does not promote any particular Christian denomination. Currently, TBN India has taken charge of the distribution and will promote it with all the major MSOs and cable operators.
The following are the technical specifications of TBN: the satellite is Palapa C2; location is 113 degrees East; the polarization is horizontal and the frequency is 3727.
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.
