News Broadcasting
US-based Channel Nine bags India C&S rights for movie ‘American Desi’
MUMBAI: Channel Nine Entertainment, the US based production house, has bagged the Indian theatrical, satellite and video rights of the Hollywood blockbuster American Desi.
The film is slated for a simultaneous release in India, Australia and South Africa following its release in the US, Canada and UK markets. Films like Monsoon Wedding and Bend It Like Beckham have paved the way for audience appreciating films in the same genre as “American Desi”, says a company spokesperson. Audiences identify with contemporary films and style of film making that are close to reality unlike the melodramas of yesteryears.”
American Desi, directed by Piyush Dinker Pandya is a romantic comedy reminiscent of the great teen films of the eighties like 16 Candles and Pretty in Pink, mixed with the fresh hip-hop style of House Party with a uniquely Indian flavour. From Kris, an All-American boy from India, to Ajay, an Afro-Centric Hindu homeboy, to Farah, a devoutly religious but modern Muslim girl, American Desi tells the story of a unique set of characters and their culture from a decidedly hip and youthful point of view.
The Indian-American comedy has become one of the top-grossing limited-release films in the UK market, says the company, with several multiplexes reporting that American Desi was their biggest picture on the weekend of 28 September 2001, trailing only Steven Spielberg’s A.I. which was the nation’s number one film during that period. Channel Nine Entertainment which debuted in the Hollywood film distribution business with American Desi, plans to release more Hollywood films.
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.
