News Broadcasting
TRP scam: Mumbai police extends custody of Partho Dasgupta
MUMBAI: Clearly, the Mumbai police believe they have got their man and have managed to extend Partho Dasgupta’s custody till 30 December. The police has alleged that Dasgupta – a former BARC CEO was the mastermind of the TRP scam – connived with his then COO Romil Ramgarhia and Republic founder and promoter Arnab Goswami to depress the ratings of the older English news channel and pump up the ratings of the news anchor’s channel Republic TV.
A Time of India report said that the police have stated that Partho (as he is known in the fraternity) got lakhs of rupees for his legerdemain of boosting Republic TV viewership. The Mumbai police's Crime Branch, in its remand note submitted before a magistrate's court here, sought further custody of Dasgupta, claiming he was the "mastermind" of the alleged TRP scam.
The remand note further states that Partho “misused his official position and manipulated TRP of specific news channels broadcast by ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd such as Republic Bharat Hindi and Republic TV English," the police alleged in its remand note. "Dasgupta, while serving as CEO got involved in the conspiracy along with Arnab Goswami and others for manipulation of TRP.”
Even as his incarceration continues, one can’t forget that the advertising fraternity, only recently elected Dasgupta as president of the Advertising Club, Mumbai.
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.
