News Broadcasting
ZeeL transfers digital publishing biz to Zee Media offshoot
MUMBAI: Continuing with its restructuring, the ZeeL board has approved the transfer of its digital publishing business to Rapidcube Technologies, a subsidiary of group company Zee Media.
The transaction values the business at Rs 63.77 crores, and Rapidcube will pay the amount by transferring its shares of Rs 10 each to ZeeL. The former’s share capital at the time of writing is Rs 10 lakh, which is being enhanced to enable the transaction.
"The date of completion of transfer of the digital publishing business division to Rapidcube would depend upon receipt of relevant approvals and completion of conditions precedent (as identified in the agreement for transfer of the business)," the company said in a BSE filing.
ZeeL says the transfer of its digital publishing business will allow it to leverage the opportunities in the space through its equity holding in Rapidcube, which was incorporated in end October 2020.
The digital business clocked up revenues of Rs 32.8 crore in FY 2019-20, contributing 0.5 per cent to ZeeL’s standalone revenue. It also contributed Rs 62.2 crore as net worth to ZeeL, which is 0.8 per cent of the latter’s net worth.
ZeeL’s digital publishing business includes websites/apps for 20 brands across 12 languages in various genres like news, entertainment, technology, cricket, health and lifestyle, and consists of flagship brands like ZeeNews.com, WIONews.com, DNAIndia.com, ZeeBusiness.in, India.com, Bollywoodlife.com, BGR.in, TheHealthsite.com, and CricketCountry.com.
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.
