News Broadcasting
Times’ Anuj Katiyar joins BTVi, aims at impactful content & strategic mktg (updated)
MUMBAI: Times Now’s marketing head Anuj Katiyar has joined BTVi as the head of marketing and research.
A source close to the development confirmed the news to www.indiantelevision.com that Katiyar has replaced Shivi Chopra. Katiyar will report to BTVi COO Monica Tata.
BTVi COO Monica Tata said, “We believe that Anuj’s expertise in the marketing and research domain will be a valuable asset to the channel. His knowledge and experience will help BTVi brand to scale new heights.” Katiyar said, “BTVi comes from an extremely strong lineage of great content. This year, we will focus on building BTVi into a strong brand backed by rich and impactful content, coupled with strategic marketing initiatives.”
Katiyar’s previous stint was with Times Now as the marketing head. He worked with Times Now for over two years. Before joining Times Network, he worked with Zee Learn as the head of marketing and research.
A post-graduate from N.L. Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research, Katiyar was also associated with the companies such as UTV where he worked as the senior manager of marketing, and Viacom 18’s Colors as the marketing manager.
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.
