Is being taken off DD Free Dish the prime reason for Zee Media’s exit from BARC?

What has prompted Zee Media to opt out of BARC ratings all of a sudden? As reported yesterday (September 30, 2022), Zee Media had stated that it has pulled out of BARC, citing the landing page issue as the primary reason. A top Zee official had told Adgully that since Zee Media’s news channels were not on landing pages, the ratings were showing a continuous drop despite have a strong distribution network.

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Zee News channels exit BARC

However, industry insiders have told Adgully that the prime reason for Zee-owned news channels to exit BARC ratings has to do with the recent move by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, denying permission to uplink their 10 new channels simultaneously on Ku-band.

According to the MIB order, Zee Media was violating clause 5.1 of uplinking guidelines and clause 5.6 of downlinking guidelines. The broadcaster had taken dual transmission approval for uplinking both in Ku-Band and C band, and due to their co-location, they got the advantage to be on DD Free Dish without paying for the huge auction fee other broadcasters were paying to be on.

Industry insiders strongly feel that Zee Media’s latest move is a repercussion of the Ministry’s action.

Also read:

Zee Media takes on Govt, moves Delhi HC against I&B Ministry

MIB has delivered justice, say small broadcasters on simultaneous uplinking order

Approval given to Zee Media to uplink in Ku-Band revoked

On the other hand, Zee executives have maintained that its exit has to do with the landing page issue. The broadcaster affirms that BARC’s algorithm should not measure landing page data. 

A senior broadcast executive told Adgully on condition of anonymity, “A sizeable chunk of Zee Media’s viewership has gone without their presence on DD Free Dish. Ratings will now fall. This is the real reason for Zee Media’s exit, even though they claim that the reason is not being present on landing pages.”

“Zee exited after its channels were removed from DD Free Dish, because now the ratings would have gone down. When they were gaining viewership for free, everything was good. The media house is trying to do damage control,” another broadcaster preferring anonymity said.

“Zee Media Chairman Puneet Goenka was one of the founding members of BARC India. Another important thing is that Puneet Goenka has been credited with building BARC. In fact, he pushed very hard for ratings to be resumed and all channels to be back. What has gone wrong now?” asks a senior industry source.

The advertiser angle

What could be the implications of this development? Will advertisers continue to evince the same interest as before?

Advertisers may be wary of advertising on channels that are not a part of BARC. As per a recent advisory by the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), its members were asked not to advertise on channels that are exiting the viewership body.

Industry bodies like the ISA have campaigned against advertising with channels that are out of the BARC ambit. ISA in an in an advisory in April this year, instructed its members against advertising with TV networks that have opted out of the BARC.

“Attention of advertisers is invited to the practice of some platforms which do not subscribe to the established system of measurement, as jointly agreed by all stakeholders,” said the body.