News Broadcasting
Terror strike: News channels asked to delay live telecast
MUMBAI: The news channels, which were boasting of fast and latest footage of terror attacks in Mumbai, were finally asked to discontinue live reportage, following the fear of security threat.
Agreeing to the request of the securities agencies, the channels agreed to delay live telecast. Reportedly, the agencies had asked news channels to stop their live coverage of the terrorist activities and rescue operations fearing that the terrorists may get information about their movements.
The news channels, which were on wild run since late night of 26 November, immediately accepted to the request of the agencies.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra government had issued notification to the cable operators on Thursday night, prohibiting transmission of news channels. “We received notification from the state government,” says a cable operator. “We were asked to shut off news channels, and we had to blackout news channels for a brief period.”
A senior executive of a leading news channel confirmed of the development. “There was disruption in the signals in morning as cable operators blacked us out. The issue was resolved in minutes and we are back.”
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.
