News Broadcasting
Times Network launches TIMES NOW WORLD & Mirror NOW in the Middle East
MUMBAI: Expanding its footprint in international markets, Times Network, India’s premium broadcast network launched TIMES NOW WORLD and Mirror NOW in the Middle East on du TV, an evolutionary digital entertainment offering delivered by leading UAE-based telecom operator du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC). Offering compelling content to viewers across best-in-class news, Hollywood, and Bollywood entertainment, Times Network is an expert curator of segmented and differentiated content across genres. With a presence in over 100 countries, the network further strengthens its foothold in the UAE catering to the content preferences of Indian and South Asian communities.
With this foray into the Middle East, TIMES NOW WORLD and Mirror NOW further enhances the footprint of the network’s existing offering in the region with TIMES NOW, ET NOW and Zoom. Serving viewers’ appetites for global content, TIMES NOW WORLD, the first HD channel from the network in the Middle East, follows the same ethos of the legacy brand TIMES NOW in bringing news with credibility, speed, accuracy and an unbiased approach. Putting citizens first, Mirror NOW, another new entrant in the market, is a channel that has redefined the norms and re-written the rules for new-age, viewer-centric journalism.
Commenting on the new launches, Jagdish Mulchandani, COO & Executive President, Times Network said, “Our alliance with du, the foremost telecom leader in the Middle East, to launch TIMES NOW WORLD and Mirror NOW is both exciting and enriching. We have successfully secured a premium position in the market with our existing content offerings and I am confident that our latest additions will provide a complete bouquet of news and entertainment to the discerning taste of the Indian diaspora.”
Fahad Al Hassawi, Deputy CEO – Telco Services, EITC said, “At du, we place premium emphasis on ensuring that our Home solutions customers have access to world-class entertainment and content that enriches their lifestyle needs. With the arrival of even more compelling content options, we are thrilled to be delivering customers more of what they want through the continual evolution of our carefully curated content portfolio.”
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.
