News Broadcasting
Tri-Vision US V-chip patent licensed to Humax
MUMBAI: Tri-Vision International Ltd has licensed its V-chip technology to Humax Co. Ltd. of Korea, which is a leading digital satellite set-top box manufacturer.
The license is valid through the expiration of the patent in 2016.
“We are delighted to award a US license to one of the world’s leading digital satellite set-top box manufacturers. Humax is exporting an extensive array of diversified digital television products and will play an important role in North America’s transition to digital television,” said Tri-Vision CEO Najmul Siddiqui.
The Humax licensing agreement resulted from negotiations, similar to those that are currently ongoing with the some 20 other companies who have expressed their intent to acquire Tri-Vision’s US V-chip license.
As part of the transition to a digital television broadcast system in the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated new rules to ensure that the V-chip can respond to rating system changes in all digital television receiver products. Tri-Vision’s open V-chip (also known as V-chip 2.0) is the only known, patented technology capable of accepting modified or new rating systems. The FCC rules took effect 15 March 2006.
Companies which have acquired V-chip licenses for Tri-Vision’s Canadian Patent No. 2,179,474 and/or U.S. Patent 5,828,402 include Sony, Hitachi, Sanyo, Philips, JVC, Matsushita, Sharp, Pioneer, Apex Digital, Samsung, LG Electronics, Funai, Orion, Toshiba, Eastech, Erae Electronics, Seiko Epson, Shenzhen KXD, Newlane, Xiamen, Konka, Optoma, Coretronic, TTE, Syntax-Brillian, Akai, Chunghwa, NEC, Viewsonic amongst others.
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.
