News Broadcasting
UTV show climbs TVR charts in all TV homes
MUMBAI: The battle for the top among production houses has now spilled over from cable and satellite homes and into all TV homes.
The UTV produced Muslim social thriller – Meher on DD National has climbed into the top 20 in the TRP stakes The serial commenced airing on 3 January 2004 with an initial TVR of 7.0, coming in at number 18. In the second week of telecast, the serial again garnered a TVR of 7.2. According to UTV, the serial has scored a record average TVR of 8.4 in the second week.
Says the production house, this is the first time such a genre is being telecast on DD 1. Aired on Saturdays and Sundays at 8.30 pm, Meher has taken up a slot earlier filled by a news bulletin. This slot did not command TVRs over 3 or 4, claims UTV.
The Balaji Telefilms produced Kayamat is the other show that has been racing to the top of the charts on DD, commanding TVRs of around 10, coming in at the number two slot. Like in C&S households, where Balaji and UTV are pitched against each other for ratings, Doordarshan has become the next hunting ground for the two. The BR Chopra production Aap Beeti however, currently holds sway over all TV homes with a TVR that hovers around 12.6.
Meher, meanwhile, revolves around the main protagonist, Meher’s trials and tribulations – a story of a fiery progressive Muslim girl belonging to a small town as she finds herself pitted against a very conservative, corrupt and hypocritical social order. It is also about Meher who gets trapped into marriage with a con man and about the battle of wits that ensues.
UTV, that is back on DD after a long gap (Meerabai, Shehnai, Mile Sur Mera Tumhara were the last few offereings) says Meher has been conceived with high production values. Directed by Sachin Deo, it stars Payal Nair, Rajiv Paul, Negi C, Buddhaditya, Rajesh Jolly and Anjali Mukhi.
UTV says Meher is just the first of several shows lined up for Doordarshan.
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.
