News Broadcasting
Kolkata celebrates Jhiliks wedding beyond the show
MUMBAI: Maa is one of the oldest shows on Star Jalsha which has been running strong for the last 4 years. Telecast at 8pm every Monday to Saturday, it’s a clear and consistent slot leader and has huge amount of loyalty among its viewers. The show delineates the story of Jhilik, a girl who has been orphaned at a very young age. Over time Jhilik has become the most loved character on Bengali TV. Viewers have showered their love and affection on her as would on their own daughters. It is this love and loyalty that helps the show deliver robust viewership with a TSV in the range of 20-22 mins.
So, when the story reached the point where Jhilik is being married off, we decided to do something big and special. We wanted to celebrate Jhilik’s iconic status by taking the marriage celebrations from beyond the show, from reel to real. It was only fair that the whole of Kolkata witnessed and was a part of the wedding of its most favorite daughter.
What we did? We erected the first live hoarding with an ongoing Shehnai performance. The live hoarding was on display at the heart of the city of Kolkata from 15th to 18th of November 2013. We had 6 Shenhai artists performing in rotation atop a hoarding decorated in the fashion of a marriage hall. Apart from the wedding celebration theme that made use of drapes, 50 kgs of flowers and wedding motif designs, the live performance itself served as the buzz creator and became the talk of the town. The buzz it created was palpable with a huge word of mouth spread.
Sweets were distributed to mark the occasion, the crowd was excited about such a novel initiative and showed full support and enthusiasm. They sent lots of blessings for Jhilik and ensured they be part of the wedding, which was reflected in the instant hike in the show ratings.
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.
