News Broadcasting
Verizon ties up with DirecTV to create a triple play for wholesale customers
MUMBAI: Verizon and DirecTV has entered an agreement that will enable Verizon wholesale customers to sell a package of voice, DSL and DirecTV services that is designed to offer a superior and more value-oriented alternative to cable “triple play” offers.
Under the agreement, telecom service providers that utilize Verizon’s popular wholesale advantage voice service and selected high-speed data services can also receive DirecTV service and sell all three services to consumers at a competitive price. The companies expect the package to become available in July.
Terms of the agreement between Verizon and DirecTV were not disclosed.
“The agreement demonstrates wholesale telephony’s progress as an industry since the Federal Communications Commission allowed providers to enter into commercial agreements for many wholesale services last year,” said Verizon Partner Solutions David Small. “Verizon is dedicated to helping our wholesale customers compete with the cable industry’s triple play. By joining with DirecTV, the market-leader in digital satellite TV services, we add a strong video brand to our voice and DSL services for wholesalers, creating a powerful combination and an attractive triple play at a discount.”
DirecTV sales and service president John Suranyi said, “The triple-play offer for wholesalers enables DirecTV to reach a new segment of customers with an attractive array of services that will more effectively compete with the local cable provider. Consumers have been responding favourably to the superior choice, value and quality offered by the Verizon/DirecTV service bundle, and we believe Verizon wholesalers will find they now have an offer that will invigorate their market.”
Verizon expects to make the bundle available to wholesale customers in July. Wholesalers must buy Verizon’s wholesale advantage voice services to qualify for the package discount
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.
