News Broadcasting
Tewari issues clarification on Sardar Patel ad releases by govt
NEW DELHI: The Government gave out 2164 newspapers advertisements on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel between 1998 and 2003.
Interestingly, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said in a statement in response to statements by certain political leaders that no advertisements were released during the years 1999, 2000 and 2001.
However, 20,915 newspapers were given the advertisement between 2004 and 2013. No advertisement was given in the year 2008.
The Ministry said the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity had been regularly releasing advertisements on the birth anniversary of prominent national leaders including Sardar Patel.
In this context, I and B Minister Manish Tewari said: “The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has always followed a policy to acknowledge the contribution of prominent national figures in nation building by releasing advertisements. The advertisements released on the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel are part of the continued policy of this Ministry of expressing gratitude to great leaders for instilling confidence and inspiration in the young minds.”
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: 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.
