News Broadcasting
Times NOW announces special programming line-up for upcoming Assembly Elections under Mandate 2018
MUMBAI: Times NOW, India’s leading English News channel announces an unmatched programming line-up for the upcoming Assembly Elections under Mandate 2018. With an exclusive association with CNX Media, a leading research consultancy headed by Psephologist Bhawesh Jha, Times NOW will use big data analytics and mathematical models to bring the viewer a holistic news watching experience.
With Mandate 2018, Times NOW, India's election news headquarters will once again be at the forefront of election news coverage tracking the state assembly elections of five states, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana. Through engaging properties, Times NOW promises to make the election coverage more exciting and captivating for its viewers.
1. Pre-Poll Surveys: Every Thursday, from 6p.m. to 8p.m., TIMES NOW will broadcast a set of Opinion Polls through its association with CNX Media, for an in-depth analysis of high-quality data on voting, public opinion, and political participation.
2. Inside: A weekend magazine show starting November 03, 2018 at 11:30a.m. that will bring the viewers close to the heat and hustle of the elections and the candidates in the fray will delve in detail about the issues in each of the five states. The show will follow top candidates as they canvass in this crucial election and attempts to bring to the viewers the issues that the voters are facing.
3. Exit Poll: With the final state polling on December 07, 2018, TIMES NOW will broadcast the exit poll 5.30 p.m. onwards. Using state of the art technology and on ground field research in association with CNX Media, the Polls will map 639 seats across 5 states and later, the data will be processed to call a projection for a state.
4. Result Day (LIVE): December 11, 2018, 6.00 am onwards, Times NOW will bring Result Day Live, a new age look at election result analysis, moving away from the traditional analysis like swing and vote patterns. Featuring the country's top Election Data Analyst & psephologist Jai Mrug, TIMES NOW will bring several unique properties that help viewers understand the sentiments of the voters and why the result has shaped the way it is.
As an established leader in the English News segment, Times NOW, is the viewers preferred channel during elections. Driven by the channel’s formidable team led by Rahul Shivshankar – Editor-in-Chief and Navika Kumar, Managing Editor, Times NOW, will bring a stellar panel of former journalists and political analysts including, Neerja Chowdhury – Senior Journalist, R Rajagopalan – Senior Journalist, Sanjeev Shrivastava – Political Analyst, Saba Naqvi – Senior Journalist, Shehzad Poonawala – Political Analyst, Rajeev Desai – Political Analyst, Ashutosh Mishra – Senior Journalist, Rashid Kidwai – Senior Journalist, R Jagannathan -Senior Journalist and Abdul Razzak -Political Analyst to analyse every move of the election for the viewers.
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.
