News Broadcasting
UPN to strut its stuff with 2nd season of dramality show
NEW YORK: Cable network UPN’s reality show America’s Next Top Model is going from strength to strength. The hit dramality series featuring world-renowned supermodel Tyra Banks, returns for a second cycle of 10 episodes.
As was the case with the first cycle women will fiercely compete for their chance at a grand prize package that includes a modeling contract. The show kicks off on 13 January 2004. An official release informs that the first cycle was UPNs highest-rated programme last season among all adult women.
The show was created by Banks, who serves as executive producer along with Ken Mok. It aims at exposing the transformation of everyday young women into potentially fierce top models. They live together in a New York loft and vie for the grand prize. Cameras catch each moment as participants face weekly tests that determine who makes the cut. With mentoring by Banks and exposure to high-profile fashion industry gurus, the finalists compete in a highly accelerated modeling boot camp — a crash course to top model fame.
The 12 participants will struggle to demonstrate both inner and outer beauty. They do their level best to master complicated cat walks, intense physical fitness, fashion photo shoots and perfect publicity skills. The group will also take an overseas trip to a destination that is one of the modeling industry’s most competitive cities in the world.
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.
