News Broadcasting
TV18, Sophia Polytechnic hosts award for docu film making
MUMBAI: TV18 and the Department of Social Communications Media at Sophia Polytechnic hosted the Award for Excellence in Documentary filmmaking. The philosophy behind the initiative is to encourage young female talent in communications and broadcast journalism.
The Chief Guest for the ceremony was the TV18 Group’s Managing Editor, Senthil Chengalvarayan.
The TV18 Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking will be an annual trophy which will carry a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 for the winning group. An independent panel of industry professionals and senior educational staff will judge the students.
The association aims to help potential documentary filmmakers and will help nurture the spirit of independent filmmaking and issue-based creative work.
Addressing the gathering TV 18 The Cell Network Creative Director Zubin Driver said, “It is indeed an honor to be a part of such an awards ceremony. This is an excellent platform for women filmmakers to show case their talent.”
.This initiative will also kick-start a long term relationship between TV18 and Sophia Polytechnic, which includes course interventions, internships and workshops that will involve real time media experience.”
The award-winning documentary was titled: Mom & Dad
Group 3 was awarded for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking at the Social Communication Media Department of Sophia Polytechnic.
The winners include:Naina Panemanglor, Yashaswini S.R.,Chinmayi Shalya, Pallavi Joshi,Neha Belvalkar,Priyanka Bhuyan, Kavita Carneiro, Anshika Varma, Priyanka Mehra.
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.
