News Broadcasting
Tech TV to merge with Comcast’s G4 channel
MUMBAI: In its bid to boost its programming assets and subscriber reach, Comcast is all set to acquire TechTV, next month.
Cable television major will merge Paul Allen’s computer-info channel with it’s fledgling G4 channel.
Report in Variety indicated that the deal is likely to be worth around $300 million.
The merger of G4 and Tech TV is intended to combine the best original programming of each into a new tech-savvy, videogame-focused network reaching around 45 million, say the reports.
G4 currently claims 12.5 million, nearly 10 million of which overlap with Tech TV’s roughly 43 million base. The deal will be a welcome cash infusion for Allen’s investment vehicle Vulcan Ventures, which is currently grappling with unprofitable stakes in Charter Communications and DreamWorks.
The reports indicate that the merged network will be targeted to the highly desirable male 18-34 demo.
EchoStar, a satellite distributor owned by Charlie Ergen, still retains a 10 per cent stake in TechTV, which Comcast is also negotiating to buy out.
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.
