News Broadcasting
ZICA announces Kolkata arm
Close on the heels of TOONZ which along with WEBEL (West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Ltd ) recently set up the first animation school in the north east, Padmalaya ZICA (Zed institute of creative arts) has announced the opening of its Kolkatta branch.
In an advertisement inserted in major newspapers across the country, the institute invited applications for its new batch going to class early august. Having trained over 600 students since its inception in 1995 and with branches already operating in Hyderabad and Mumbai, Kolkata will be the institute’s third centre.
On being asked about its new centre, ZICA’s Rajiv Sangari said that ” We have been considering opening up a branch in Kolkatta for quite some time now, we believe that there is a lot of art and culture in Bengal which holds immense potential for the animation industry”
Set over 4,000 sq. feet, the institute shall boast of machines based on state of the art G5 Mac platform and software like MAYA, Shake and FCP.
Sangari further added that ” In response to our ad, on the first day itself we have received 450 calls, that too on a Sunday.” The total seats open are 160 with 50 each for Kolkatta and Hyderabad and 60 for Mumbai.
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.
