News Broadcasting
Premier League executive chairman, Richard Scudamore, addresses Reliance foundation young champs
MUMBAI: The twenty-two young Reliance Foundation Young Champs currently in England visited the Premier League headquarters in London as they entered the second week of their 11-day trip. The Young Champs have already visited the academies of Premier League outfits like Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Southampton since arriving in England on May 11 and will soon be visiting those of West Bromwich Albion, Manchester City and Liverpool before their scheduled departure on May 23.
After experiencing their first live premier league match at St, Mary’s Stadium on Sunday as Southampton hosted Crystal Palace, the youngsters travelled to the Premier League headquarters for a fun-and-educational session. The youngsters also received the opportunity to pose alongside the Premier League trophy and were addressed by Executive Chairman of the Premier League, Richard Scudamore.
Scudamore started his address by highlighting the world class youth development facilities on display at Premier League clubs. “You’ve already been to Chelsea, already been to Southampton, you’re here today and then travelling up the rest of the country, finally Manchester and Liverpool. You will see a complete spread of what’s best about Premier League Youth Development facilities,” he said.
However, Scudamore didn’t forget to emphasise that there was more to a footballer’s development than just excellent facilities. “But I don’t want you to leave your tour here thinking that it’s all about facilities. Your career development, youth development is primarily down to you as individuals. It is of course, not only about how good you are physically but also how good you are mentally,” he said.
He also stressed the need for top quality coaches to help the young budding talents further their footballing education. “Probably the most important thing is your coaching and the quality of your coaches and the coaches as mentors in the way they develop you. Realistically, it will be difficult in the next couple of years in terms of your development, to have an enormous amount of facilities in India like you’ll see this week.”
Scudamore ended his address to the Reliance Foundation Young Champs by stating that it was a privilege to have the young champs in England and encouraged the talented youngsters to enjoy their stay in England. “Most importantly, this week and next week just ensure you have fun and it’s really been a privilege of ours to host you, to be involved in your visit and it’s really great to see you,” he concluded.
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.
