Legacy channels should introspect on their failing content, not ratings: Arnab Goswami

The future of the news industry cannot be held hostage by uncompetitive legacy players who cannot compete on merit, said Arnab Goswami, owner and Editor-in-Chief, Republic Media Network, and President of NBF. He was responding to the reports that some news channels are trying to stall the BARC ratings for the news genre.

Arnab was scathing in his attack on certain channels that are hell-bent on stalling the news ratings.
“If some news channels want to avoid the embarrassment of low ratings they are getting, they should introspect on their failing content instead of blaming ratings,” he said.

"News reporting, an essential service in our nation, is upheld by our brave journalists who serve as the fourth pillar of our democracy. To sustain this pillar, honest financial support through advertising, determined by BARC's weekly viewership numbers, is crucial. While deep-pocketed monopolies may weather the storm, disrupting ratings would gravely impact the rest of the news industry, leading to its inevitable collapse. We firmly believe this sets the stage against news entities, depriving us of an equitable platform compared to other broadcasting genres. As advertising rates hinge on ratings, unilateral actions against the news genre, depriving it of this determinant, must be avoided,” he added.