News Broadcasting
Trump fires up 17 US cities in the search for the next ‘Apprentice’
MUMBAI: Real estate magnet Donald Trump returns to the boardroom for a fifth season of NBC’s business based reality show The Apprentice.
In India the show airs on Star World.
The 17-city casting tour in the US for season five kicked off a couple of days ago in Los Angeles. It stops at Trump Tower on 8 July where Trump himself will interview applicants. Casting directors will visit 15 other cities in July.
Speaking on the initiative Trump says, “If you have ever wanted to compete on The Apprentice this is your opportunity. I’d like to encourage all age groups to apply including veteran business men and women along with hungry young entrepreneurs.”
Prospective applicants should: be able to take risks, bounce back after failing, succeed in a cutthroat environment, go against the tide, remain focused, think creatively and be a leader. Interested candidates should complete the online application form (www.nbc.com).
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.
