News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 Wins Big at the 23rd Asian Television Awards 2018
MUMBAI: In line with CNN-News18’s commitment to outstanding journalism, the channel has, once again, been recognized for its exceptional efforts. At the prestigious 23rd Asian Television Awards held in Malaysia, Zakka Jacob, Editor – Output, CNN-News18, has been awarded Best News Presenter for channel’s primetime show – Face-Off Tonight. Along with Zakka, channel’s renowned year-end exclusive chat show series The Bollywood Roundtable hosted by Rajeev Masand has also received the award for Best Talk Show.
Over the years, Zakka has become one of the most credible voices in the highly competitive primetime English news genre. Breaking the clutter, Zakka, with his assertive yet calm demeanor, and sharp questions, provides viewers with nuanced perspectives and substantive analysis. He has over 15 years of experience, anchoring and covering some of the most defining news stories of the last decade.
Hosted by Rajeev Masand, The Bollywood Roundtables features India's finest actors, actresses, and directors who come together to discuss, debate and decipher the art of movie making along with the latest trends in the entertainment industry.
On winning the prestigious award, Rajeev Masand thanked all the filmmakers, actresses, actors and everyone who made Bollywood Roundtables such a huge success.
Zakka dedicated this award to the former Managing Editor of CNN-News, late Mr. Radhakrishnan Nair. On receiving the award he said, “I am truly honoured and blessed to receive the Award for Best News Presenter at the Asian Television Awards for a second time. I would like to dedicate this award to Mr. Radhakrishnan Nair. He was a very close friend and mentor who passed away last year. He taught us to bring forth the best analysis and most credible opinions for our viewers. At CNN-News18, we continue to embody these values to keep up with our exceptional journalistic standards. ”
Launched in 1996, Asian Television Awards is Asian TV industry’s most significant and celebrated event, recognizing excellence in programming, production, and performance. Asian Television Awards is positioned as the only event of its kind within the Asian region and has a reputation of showcasing the best in class quality television production.
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.
