News Broadcasting
Udam Panam” all-set to make a grand return on Mazhavil Manorama
Udan Panam, the popular reality game show on Mazhavil Manorama, in which contestants play to win fabulous cash prizes, is all-set to make its grand return. The show, where contestants have to answer various general knowledge questions set randomly by the hosts, will follow a new, exciting format. While the earlier season involved questions appearing on an ATM machine, this time a participant will be able to play and win money simply by using the TV screens in their homes. Auditions for this unique game show will commence on 7th June 2020 at 9PM, said sources inside Mazhavil Manorama. An official date of launch is yet to be revealed, and will most likely be announced through the social media handles of the channel.
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.
