News Broadcasting
Launch of Ladakhi Regional Service on DD-Kashir Channel
MUMBAI: Ladakhi News Bulletins are extremely popular among the people in Leh and Ladakh region as there are hardly any private channels telecasting programmes in Ladakhi. Doordarshan is the only source of Ladakhi news for the people of the region. DDK, Leh which started its telecast in the year 2000 has been producing and telecasting several programmes in Ladakhi. As the world’s highest TV station, DDK, Leh has been fulfilling regional aspirations in spite of many challenges in the region. The regional telecast, which takes place everyday between 6.00 p.m to 7.30 p.m. in Ladakhi is transmitted through a network of 92 Terrestrial transmitters including 13 HPTs, 13 LPTs and 66 VLPTs.
Programmes of DDK Leh cover various aspects of local News and Current Affairs as well as local cuisine, life style, culture and heritage. With increase in the popularity of satellite transmission, it has become important to augment the terrestrial transmission services with the availability of Ladakhi programmes on satellite mode also so that programmes get a national foot print and are accessible to a large number of people not only in Ladakh but also elsewhere in India.
It has been a long pending demand of people from the region that the Ladakhi regional service be made available on satellite platform. Doordarshan, Prasar Bharati has decided to fulfil this regional aspiration by providing a Prime time slot to Ladakhi News and Current Affairs and other programmes initially through a half-an-hour slot on DD-Kashir, which is a satellite channel from 10th September, 2018 from 6.30 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. This would enable accessibility of Ladakhi regional service on all DTH Platforms viz., DD Freedish, Tatasky, Dish TV, Videocon d2h, Airtel, Reliance Digtial TV, Sun Direct and Cable Services etc. as DD Kashir is mandatorily carried on all these platforms as per the direction of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The Member of Parliament of the region Shri Thupstan Chhewang had met Smt. Supriya Sahu, Director General, Doordarshan during her visit to Leh and requested for providing a satellite platform to Ladakhi programmes for their wider dissemination.
People of Leh and Ladakh can now tune in to watch their favourite Ladakhi regional service including Ladakhi News Bulletin from 6.30 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. wherein 6.30 p.m. to 6.45 p.m. has been allocated for programmes of varied genres in Ladakhi and 6.45 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. has been earmarked for Ladakhi News Bulletin.
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.
