News Broadcasting
For the first time, viewers get to choose their favourite shows on Sony BBC Earth
MUMBAI: Content may be King, but so is the viewer. Sony BBC Earth, India’s premium factual entertainment channel, takes another leap in audience engagement by giving viewers the choice to pick their favourite shows of 2018 on the channel.
Last year, Sony BBC Earth made the viewers feel alive with a specially curated ‘Best of Earth’ line-up. This time, fans can go on the website https://www.sonybbcearth.com/bestofearth and vote for their favourite show of the year. This unique initiative is the channels’ attempt to bring consumer preferences to the fore.
The channel has handpicked iconic shows of all times ranging from science and nature to adventure and human interest stories that enlighten, engage and entertain. One can choose from legendary shows like Planet Earth II, Blue Planet II, Snow Bears, Made by Destruction, Rick Stein’s India, Attenborough’s Big Birds and more.
Voting ends on December 21st and the five most voted shows will air on the channel starting 24th December every night at 7PM as part of ‘Best of Earth 2018’. Audiences can watch their favourite shows, picked by them, and Feel Alive only on Sony BBC Earth.
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.
