News Broadcasting
ZoneMedia launches horror series on the mobile
MUMBAI:Global media firm Zonemedia has announced the launch of the first made-for-mobile horror series, When Evil Calls in the UK.
Digital channel Zone Horror and its sister company Zone Mobile, have joined forces with Pure Grass Films to create the 20-episode series. The series launched in association with British mobile firm O2. Viewers who prefer a more traditional TV watching experience will be able to tune into Zone Horror next week, when a behind the scenes documentary will be broadcast.
When Evil Calls centres around the mysterious appearance of a text message that grants the students at Willburn Hall their wildest desires. A-cup Alice wants bigger breasts, until her cup runneth over in an explosive mathematics class. Hilary would give her right arm to lose weight and the blades of a kitchen waste disposal unit oblige. One by one, Willburn s students learn a lethal lesson: be careful what you wish for.
When Evil Calls is written and directed by rising British horror star Johannes Roberts. Each two minute episode has been shot expressly for mobile devices. It stars Jennifer Lim, Dominique Pinon and Chris Barrie.
Roberts says, “When Evil Calls has forged new ground in my film-making career. Shooting two minute episodes meant really focusing the writing and intensifying the story. The result is a fast-paced, hilarious and scary romp that I hope will be enjoyed on cell phones throughout the world.”
The series is available for download for O2 customers in the UK via O2 Active. Customers can access the content from within the Film section of the O2 Active portal or alternatively they can text the word WISH to 61616 where they will receive a WAP push with a WAP URL which will link them straight into the content. It will also be available on general release through the Zone Horror Wap site and all major UK mobile operators.
Zone Horror’s Tanya Gugenheim says, “We are breaking new ground. Mobile television is set to change they way we tune in to our entertainment. Together with our partners Pure Grass Films and O2, Zone Horror is proud to present a small screen series with big screen production values.”
O2 UK capability and innovation director Russ Shaw says, “We are very pleased to be delivering such a high value video production to our customers across the entire video enabled device range through O2 Active. When Evil Calls is a great piece of light entertainment that our subscribers will have a lot of fun with during the Halloween season and beyond.”
Producers Zone Horror and Pure Grass Films advise viewer discretion as the series contains scenes of a violent and sexual nature, horror, nudity and intimidation. O2 will only make the series available after the 9 pm watershed to safeguard the younger audience.
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.
