News Broadcasting
TV9 Network joins News Broadcasters Federation
Mumbai: TV9 Network on Wednesday announced that it has joined News Broadcasters Federation (NBF). NBF is a broadcast news body formed by more than 78 news channels representing 14 languages and 25 states.
The NBF recently saw the induction of Sahara Network, CVR Network, and V6 as its new members.
“NBF is the first body of broadcasters in India that truly represents the vision and concerns of regional, vernacular, and national media that constitute the changing face of media in India,” said the broadcast network in a statement.
“NBF’s goals are to support regional news channels and their digital platforms in understanding and complying with regulatory requirements with regard to news content,” it added.
Welcoming TV9 Network on board, NBF president Arnab Goswami said that the NBF is the nation’s only body that truly represents national and regional players, catering to their aspirations and forming a system to cohesively and unitedly raise concerns regarding broadcast news media. “The NBF is the most democratically run news media body and that is what makes us stand out amongst the rest. I am proud to say that today NBF is the biggest body for broadcast news and is one that is for a New India and one for the future,” he added.
“We are delighted to join the NBF. I am impressed with the democratic way of functioning of Arnab and other members of the governing body,” said TV9 Network, group chief executive officer, Barun Das. “Regional news genre enjoys the biggest pie of viewership and revenue in the news TV industry. It is only fair that they get their share of voice in guiding the industry in the right direction. The NBF brings that balance to the table as regional broadcasters are well represented here.”
The NBF channels presently include 24News, Alamai Sahara, CVR English, CVR Health, CVR NEWS, DA News Plus, DY365, Gulistan News, IBC24, IND 24, India News Gujarat, India News Haryana, India News Hindi, India News MPCG, India News Punjabi, India News Rajasthan, India News UP, Khabar Fast, MHOne, NEWS9, News First Kannada, News Live, News Nation, NewsX, North East Live, North East News, OTV, Prag News, Puthiyathalaimurai, Republic Bangla, Republic Bharat, Republic TV, Sahara Samay, Samay Bihar, Samay Maharashtra, Samay MPCG, Samay Rajasthan, Samay UP, TV5 Kannada, TV5 Telugu, TV9 Bharatvarsh, TV9 Gujarati, TV9 Kannada, TV9 Marathi, TV9 Telugu, and V6.
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: 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.
