News Broadcasting
ZEE News announces special 75-hour programme for Independence Day
New Delhi: Hindi News channel ZEE News has announced a 75-hour marathon programme with multiple shows to celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day.
The program will begin on 12 August at 9 p.m. and continue till 15 August.
The 75-hour long program will have special shows like Bhoolein -Yaad Aati Hain, anchored by writer Manoj Muntasir. The Regiment Series will see the ZEE News team visiting many Armed Force Camps, while a special show on brave hearts like Bhagat Singh, will be anchored by Piyush Mishra. A documentary on Sardar Patel and a musical show by Indian playback singer Shadab Faridi will also be aired along with a remembrance program of personalities like Dilip Kumar and Sunil Dutt.
Apart from this, ZEE News will show the viewers some classics like Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hain & Yaaro Ki Baarat with Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha. ZEE News additionally, for the first time ever, will celebrate the brilliant Olympic performance by showcasing India’s first-ever gold medal story through telecast of Akshay Kumar starrer movie ‘Gold’. Some more specials like Kavi Sammelan, INS Viraat, Female commando, Harbhajan & Yuvraj Singh together will be aired as well.
DNA will also have an Independence Special. Some more specials like Kavi Sammelan, INS Viraat, Female commando, Harbhajan & Yuvraj Singh together will be aired as well.
ZEE News, CEO and editor-in-chief, Sudhir Chaudhary said “ZEE News was the first private 24/7 news channel of independent India. In the last 26 years, we have always carried the core values of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakum as we have always kept the nation and our viewers first. Apart from hard factual news, we strive to bring innovative content for our viewers as we will do this 75th Independence Day where we will be providing much more than just news to celebrate the nation’s achievements.“
ZEE News, chief revenue officer, Gaurav Verma said, “It’s our consistent endeavour at ZEE News to give extra value and informative content to our viewers and the same is well recognised by leading brands for association with Zee News. This is because of the constant trust and legacy we have built over last 26 years as India’s first private news channel.”
ZEE News is watched in more than 180 countries worldwide.
ZEE News is the No.1 Hindi News channel on Facebook and India’s no.1 Hindi News channel on YouTube, according to Crowd Tangle Report (Metric: Facebook Social Media Interactions) 25 May – 25 August 2020 and TubeBuddy; 11th Jul – 08th Aug ’21, In terms of Video views in Millions. (Headline is also based above sources)
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.
