Zee News storms into no 2 position in BARC week 50’25 ratings

NOIDA: Zee News has mounted its sharpest comeback in nearly six years, vaulting into the top ranks of Hindi news with a bruising performance in BARC Week 50’25, driven by rural strength and free-to-air heft.

According to BARC India data (HSM | all 15 plus | 06:00–24:00 hours), the channel emerged as the second most-watched Hindi news outlet nationally, clocking a reach of 50.8 million viewers and signalling renewed traction after years in the middle order.

The real story, however, lies beyond urban pay homes. In HSM rural markets, Zee News ranked no 1 among NCCS all 15 plus audiences, cornering a 12.2 per cent market share and reaching 17.6 million viewers. On the free platform, it extended its lead with a 12.7 per cent share and a reach of 15 million, underlining the enduring power of FTA news in mass India.

Regionally, the channel topped the charts in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, posting a 13.5 per cent share and consolidating its grip on the Hindi heartland, still the decisive battleground for television news.

The surge has also lifted Zee Media Corporation Limited’s overall news portfolio, strengthening cumulative reach and time spent amid an increasingly fragmented broadcast market.

Executives at the network frame the performance not as a one-week blip but as the payoff from a sustained editorial reset: sharper storytelling, heavier on-ground reporting and a renewed pitch for viewer trust. In a genre addicted to spikes and crashes, Zee News’ week 50 showing suggests momentum with muscle behind it.