News Broadcasting
upGrad partners with SET for ‘Shark Tank India’
Mumbai: Higher edtech platform upGrad on Monday announced its partnership with Sony Entertainment Television (SET) as the presenting sponsor for the first edition of “Shark Tank India” and as the co-presenting sponsor of the show on the streaming platform, SonyLIV.
According to a statement, this association aligns with upGrad’s vision of powering career success for the workforce as their trusted ‘life-long learning partner,’ and will also further the brand’s deep India penetration goal.
“We are thrilled to come on board for the first-ever season of ‘Shark Tank India’ that will celebrate young entrepreneurs from across ‘Bharat’ and their zeal of creating business opportunities and employment within the country,” stated upGrad India CEO Arjun Mohan. “With this strategic partnership we are not only looking forward to coming closer to millions of individuals, but also to building an inclusive ecosystem of talent that is best placed to contribute meaningfully towards India’s growth.”
“Shark Tank” provides a platform for business ideas and prototypes as well as active businesses to get propelled into reality by experienced investors and business experts. The international format is popular among young and aspiring entrepreneurs as well as working professionals who are also the brand’s core target audience.
“India is rapidly turning into a digital-first economy, and the entertainment preferences of its consumers are evolving daily. Keeping this at the forefront, we have partnered with upGrad for the first-ever edition of ‘Shark Tank India’ on SonyLIV,” said SonyLIV’s head of ad sales revenue Ranjana Mangla. “With this high-quality business-oriented show, we endeavor to boost India’s growth trajectory. SonyLIV’s diverse content library will help the brand connect with the right audience. Onboarding upGrad will help us tap new audience segments and heighten our innovations for the show.”
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.
