News Broadcasting
Vh1 ties up with Big Fish Games & Midway to provide online games
MUMBAI: Vh1 has announced the launch of Vh1 Games the online gaming destination for gamers, puzzle experts, and pop culture fans. For this initiative, Vh1 has teamed up with the game developer and distributor Big Fish Games and the interactive entertainment software publisher and developer Midway.
Big Fish Games has been tapped for their expertise in the downloadable game market, game publishing, and merchandising. Through its licensing agreement with Vh1, Midway is providing authentic arcade classic games to the hub.
“We have created a gaming site that extends the Vh1 brand by playing off of Vh1’s distinct programming,” said Vh1 VP digital media Tina Imm. “Our original games and ‘Vh1 Classic Arcade’ give our viewers and the enormous numbers of casual online gamers a great mix of old and new games, editorial content, and industry news.”
In addition to a broad collection of word games, action games and puzzles, the Vh1 Games hub offers original games from Vh1, top downloadable games, and popular classic arcade games from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s that are part of Vh1’s on-air and broadband programming.
Vh1 Games also provides gaming news and commentary through its dedicated blog, ‘Vh1 Game Break’. Vh1 Games introduces the ‘Vh1 Classic Arcade’– a collection of authentic online versions of old-school arcade classics like Spy Hunter, Joust, Defender, and Rampage.
In the classic arcade section of the site, the games will be packaged together with editorial content relevant to the time when these games were originally released.
Vh1 Games also offers original games based on Vh1’s hit TV shows and pop culture, as well as classic-inspired games including Vh1’s new mini-game compilation, The Arcade Strikes Back. Vh1’s original games include titles such as Escape the Paparazzi, Sudoku Fortunes and I Love Toys.
Players can download one hour trials of the games or purchase the full versions for $19.99.
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.
