News Broadcasting
Worldspace India appoints Harshad Jain as Chief Marketing Officer
MUMBAI: Worldspace, satellite-based digital radio services provider has announced the appointment of Harshad Jain as Chief Marketing Officer for its India operations. Jain will be responsible for extending the Worldspace service to markets across India, enhancing consumer experiences and building upon growing brand awareness levels in the country.
Jain joins Worldspace from Pepsico India where he had a productive 12-year plus stint, serving in various roles and building Pepsi brands including Lipton Ice Tea, Aquafina, Tropicana, Slice, Gatorade, and others. In his last role as Executive Vice President (Pepsi-Lipton Joint Venture), Jain headed up the strategic alliance between Pepsi and Unilever, laying the foundation for the merger of the successful Lipton Ice business with Pepsi as well as developing the marketing strategy and the long-term vision for the alliance, informs an official release.
Worldspace India MD Shishir Lall said, “We are delighted to have Harshad join us at Worldspace as we look to grow our business and undertake an extensive brand-building campaign. His appointment is part of a concerted effort to continue building a passionate management team as we share the joy of satellite radio with more and more music lovers across the country.”
With over 40 premium radio stations Worldspace India will leverage Jain’s considerable brand building experience to further extend the reach of the satellite radio service and establish a connection with a larger base of music lovers across India, adds the release.
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.
