BARC remains mum as industry rife with rumours on TV ratings data split

Amid the massive row over the landing page issue and the Open House Discussion (OHD) held in Mumbai on July 3, 2019 under TRAI’s aegis to review the TV ratings mechanism in India, BARC India’s Board met in Mumbai yesterday (July 4, 2019) to take stock of the developments in the industry. 

Being a closed door meeting, it is not known what discussions took place. With no official statement forthcoming from BARC, the industry is rife with various rumours – ranging from lack of quorum that resulted in an impasse at the meet, to BARC splitting the TV ratings data for pay channels and free-to-air (FTA) channels and planning to report them separately. 

When contacted by Adgully, BARC officials refused to comment on the Board meet as well as provide some clarity on splitting the ratings for Pay and FTA channels. 

According to an industry insider, “Given the sample sufficiency, we hope BARC can now be able to report data by pay TV households vis-a-vis FTA households (15% ^30 MM households), which the industry has been asking for a long time, along with MOSR – DTH/ Free Dish (96.5 MM households) vis-a-vis cable (92.5 MM households).” 

The industry expert felt that this would help broadcasters and advertisers/ agencies understand the distinct behaviour of channels consumed across Rural Vs Urban by population strata, especially post the implementation of TRAI’s New Tariff Order.