ISA campaigns for ratings

With several news broadcasters threatening to leave Broadcasters Audience Research Audience (BARC) India, the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) has issued a warning to its members urging them to make informed decisions about running advertisements on such platforms. 

According to reports, ISA members are debating a policy of 'No measuring, No advertising' in the event that any channel abandons BARC ratings. The ISA advice was delivered to all AAAI members on April 27.

Following a directive from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), the BARC resumed providing news ratings on March 17, after a 17-month hiatus.

The viewership figures for news and information channels are given on a four-week rolling average basis.

NDTV Limited, which owns and operates NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India, has previously withdrawn from BARC India due to apparent inconsistencies in the rating system.

The news broadcasters are dissatisfied because they believe the BARC has failed to address their concerns, such as the exploitation of landing pages for viewing gain, the delay in conducting the Broadcast India research, and the possibility of panel tampering by unscrupulous forces.