News Broadcasting
Tdsat hints Zee Turner and Asianet to compromise
NEW DELHI: A three-judge bench at the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat), while advising the parties concerned to try hammer out a solution between them, fixed another date for hearing the case relating to Zee Turner switching off bouquet to Asianet. The latter had earlier filed a complaint with Trai wherein the regulatory authority directed Zee-Turner to restore the signals to Asianet.
The next date of hearing has been fixed for 16 February.
This implies that a status quo is maintained as Asianet’s cable TV subscribers in parts of South India will have to do without the Zee Turner bouquet consisting of 17-odd channels including Zee TV, Zee News, HBO and Kairali.
Zee-Turner, a distribution joint venture between Zee Telefilms and Time Warner, had appealed to the Tdsat last month on a Trai directive asking it to restore signals to Asianet in Kerala.
The Zee-Turner bouquet has been off from the Asianet cable network since 16 December 2004 due to alleged non-payment of dues amounting to Rs 30 million. The company has also charged Asianet with unauthorised distribution of signals and under-declaration of subscriber base that has resulted in huge financial losses
Though Indiantelevision.com does not have any official word on it, according to sources in both the companies, a settlement may be hammered out. While, reportedly, Asianet has offered a compromise formula, Zee Turner is looking for extracting more out of the settlement if it happens before the next date of hearing at Tdsat.
A broad deal, being worked upon, envisages Asianet paying Rs. 5 million over the next few days with, may be, another package of equivalent amount being paid up at the time of next hearing. This would give Asianet access to the Zee Turner channels again and also time for further negotiations. However, the management of both the companies has to agree to such a deal involving part payment.
What may be a bone of contention is the premier movie channel HBO. Asianet would like to have the channel too as part of the package at earlier rates, which is not being agreed upon by Zee Turner.
Kerala cable TV households connected through Asianet have not been able to watch a slew of channels, including Zee Cinema, Zee TV, Zee English, Cartoon Network, Pogo, CNBC and ZMZ.
The Rajan Raheja-controlled Asianet Satellite Communications Ltd. is the largest cable network services company in Kerala, and is the leading service provider in the region for cable TV and Internet solutions. Its cable network services operate from over 40 centers spread throughout Kerala and touch over half a million homes and establishments.
With a countrywide network of over 400 dealers, Zee-Turner has a wide distribution structure in the country and its bouquet caters to wide genre of programming. The company boasts of a combined viewership of more than 30 million households with an equal spread throughout the country.
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.
