News Broadcasting
ZMCL to launch English news channel for global audience
MUMBAI: Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL) is looking at expanding its portfolio of news channels. The network is prepping itself for an English news channel now, albeit for the global audience.
“I have been harbouring this thought of starting a global news network in English for the global audience but with an India point of view,” said Essel Group chairman Dr Subhash Chandra.
The network is currently working on the channel. “We will announce the launch soon, it could be any week or any month,” added Chandra.
The channel could be launched with or without a partner, informed Chandra adding that the channel will first launch in India and then have a global presence. “We will start with our nation and then go global,” he said.
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: 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.
