News Broadcasting
Zee to air original movies from year end
MUMBAI: Continuing with the recent revamp in programming, Zee TV is now geared to start a new series of original movies under the brand name Kambakht Ishq.
The Kambakht Ishq slot for Zee TV Original Movies will premiere an ’emotional and spine-chilling’ story of passionate relationships that have incited crime,says a release. The stories will make it clear that love and violence are inextricably linked, it adds.
The original movies will air on the last Saturday of every month.The first movie of the series, Chura Ke Dil Mera, starring tele stars Divya Dutta, Ram Kapoor and Seema Shetty airs on 28 December at 8:30 pm. It has been directed by Diya and Tony Singh.
Interestingly, the channel has spruced its programmes for the new year. It plans to air special episodes of its popular soap – Kittie Party as well as talk showSimply Shekhar which will feature a surprise guest on the last day of the year.
On New Year’s eve, the channel will air the Zee Golden Bollywood Awards from 8:00 pm to 11 pm.
Zee Cinema, as mentioned earlier, will air the blockbuster Gadar – Ek Prem Katha starring Amisha Patel and Sunny Deol at 8 pm on 31 December.
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.
