Multiple frequencies row: All eyes on BARC data for Week 19

There is fresh development in the case of Republic TV and usage of multiple logical channel numbers (LCNs)/ genres with the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) urging the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India not to release Republic TV’s viewership data until the channel completely stopped using multiple numbers. 

There is much anticipation regarding the viewership data for Republic TV’s first week of operations. The data is slated for release in a couple of hours from now, today (May 18, 2017). 

NBA has written to BARC stating that if the data is released, it would mean “aiding and abetting such malpractices which will have serious consequences on the news broadcasting industry in India”. 

The issue of usage of multiple frequencies by Republic TV has received strong reactions from the news broadcasters. However, the channel is not the first one to have adopted such a strategy. Earlier, India Today TV (when it was rebranded from Headlines Today) and Times Now, too, had used multiple feeds. CNBC-TV18 also had a complaint filed against it by ET Now, which said that multiple frequencies had impacted CNBC-TV18’s Budget coverage viewership in the last Budget. 

Apart from BARC, NBA also filed a complaint with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) regarding Republic TV running on multiple frequencies. Following this complaint, TRAI has reportedly sought clarifications from over 20 multi-system operators (MSOs), DPOs and distributors. 

Now, all eyes are on the BARC data for Week 19, which will be released shortly...