After Adgully's report, BARC India breaks silence on splitting Free & Pay viewership data

Putting all industry speculations to rest, BARC India today announced that it would start reporting viewership from free and pay platforms separately starting Week 27 (29^th June – 5^th July). It may be recalled that Adgully had raised concerns in its report dated July 5, 2019 over BARC’s silence amid conflicting rumours floating in the industry post BARC India’s Board meeting last week.

The systems at BARC India always evolve basis feedback from the industry. In the past 4 years BARC India has enabled granular reporting cuts basis feedback from various stakeholders to better understand viewership habits.

The new Pay & Free platform variable will be offered over and above the current Urban & Rural cuts that are reported by BARC India. It will be made available to all the subscribers for planning & analysis through its proprietary BARC Media Workstation Software. It will also be published on the website for select genres.

A Free Connection is one where the household incurs only a small one-time fee for installing the set top box. The major player in this area is DD Free Dish. The household does not pay any monthly subscription fee. Whereas a Pay connection is one where the subscriber invests an initial amount for installation and an on-going monthly subscription fee.

In the Hindi Speaking Markets, 2 out of 10 homes are Free Homes, accounting for almost 140 Mn TV viewing Individuals. The Pay & Free viewer differs significantly not only in terms of demographics, but also their characteristics, values, lifestyle and psychographics. A study done in these homes by BARC India explicates the personas of these two audience types.

Reporting viewership from Pay and Free platform separately would enable focussed targeting. Advertisers can plan more effectively by placing insertions on the channels available on these platforms in the respective regions. Broadcasters can also make more informed decisions pertaining to content and distribution.

“There has been a strong demand from the Market for separate reporting of viewership from homes with Pay & Free connection. We have taken the market feedback in consideration with the changes that have come about in the ecosystem post the implementation of the Tariff Order. We believe this move is a step in the right direction to empower the industry in understanding the distinct consumption patterns of this segment and plan more effectively,” said Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India.