Zee exiting BARC: Industry points out at larger issues beyond landing page

Zee Media Corporation Limited’s (ZMCL) abrupt decision to exit BARC has taken the industry by surprise. Zee has asked the rating agency to stop reporting all of its 14 channels with immediate effect.  

ZMCL termed its decision as a milestone for the whole news media industry. The media entity complains that the rating agency has failed to rectify the news industry’s and Zee Media’s concerns. Zee also rued that the BARC has not given any “white paper on TRP scam until now, and it is a matter of great concern.”

“We have also repeatedly pointed out that a far larger sample (of meters) is needed if BARC is serious about ensuring a measurement process that cannot be rigged or manipulated,” said a communiqué by the media entity. ZMCL was particularly concerned about the landing page issue. In fact, the purported reason for the move is the landing page issue.

But, there are hardly any takers for the Zee Media’s contention that landing page is the prime reason for its decision to pull out of the BARC. At least, that is what Adgully could learn after we reached out to a cross-section of industry stakeholders.  

So, these are the moot questions. What has prompted the broadcasting giant to take such a step? Is landing page the main reason for the move? Or is there something more to it than meets the eye?  

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Last week, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting withdrew the approval given to ZMCL for simultaneous uplinking of its 10 TV channels in Ku Band on GSAT-15 Satellite through the teleport of Dish TV India Ltd. The Zee channels were enjoying undue advantage by being available on DD Free Dish.

Many industry insiders associate the recent Ministry action against the broadcast major as the prime reason for its decision to exit the BARC. It has hardly anything to do with the landing page issue, they assert.

The exigencies for such a step can be many, says Vivek Srivastava, Joint MD, Innocean, referring to the Zee Media’s abrupt decision to exit the BARC. “While the publicly stated reason seems to be the landing pages, speculations abound. My view is that any dynamic measurement system tends to have its fans and opposers in equal measure,” he adds.

The only reason Zee is pulling out is that their current ratings are not supporting their ad sales revenue aspirations and delivery, says a senior broadcast executive on condition of anonymity. According to him, the second half has seen a dramatic drop in ad spends across the board. And demand across television has been weak, but the impact on news is higher.

“Landing page is also a reason, but not the only reason as they are making out to be,” asserts the broadcast executive, who has worked with some of the leading channels in the country.

The overall news genre has been witnessing decline in viewership for a while now.

According to the TV executive, news viewership to total viewership share is down significantly. This, he adds, has a significant bearing on what will happen even if there is recovery from the current slackness in the market due to inflation, start-up funding challenges, and other geopolitical challenges.

Will the development have any kind of impact on advertiser behaviour?

According to Vivek Srivastava, audience measurement metrics are an important input in the decision-making process for both advertisers and the agencies. “There will surely be impact felt in the medium term on the brand patronage extended to the channel. Since Zee News has a considerable viewer base, attrition of advertisers won’t be instant,” he adds.

Advertisers’ reaction

Advertisers are attributing multiple reasons to the Zee’s decision. 

According to a marketing head of a prominent FMCG brand, multiple reasons have played a part. “Zee Media was the main propagator of the BARC. Till recently, Puneet Goenka was the main proponent of the BARC. Suddenly, Zee has a problem. They are out of the BARC because of the KU Band issue. They had no problem until now. Everything started after the ministry took action against the group for the KU Band issue. Another reason is the exit of Sudhir Chaudhary. After he left Zee for Aaj Tak, Zee’s ratings came down,” he said.

Terming the Zee move ‘reactionary,’ he said that another reason for Zee’s dwindling fortune is that rival channels like TV18 beat it in the landing page issue.

“In the landing page issue, Zee suffered. Another reason is that in this quarter, FMCG majors have cut their advertising spends, especially on the news genre. All these combined issues have forced Zee to take this step,” he said.    

It doesn’t look like only landing page issue as Zee News is a very prominent network and have multiple products under news, said the media and digital head of a leading FMCG. According to him, something must have been going on for a long time.

He asserts that the impact or reaction from advertisers is bound to happen. “Rating is the only currency, and it will remain in trade for some time,” he says.  

What will be the role of the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA)? Will it come up with a fresh advisory for its members in view of the Zee’s action? In April this year, ISA issued an advisory to its members about advertising with those TV channels that have exited BARC. The advisory, dated April 27, 2022, stated that brands were only wasting money by giving ads to those channels which have opted out of the BARC ratings. “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. Advertisers may independently assess the situation and make an informed decision with respect to such platforms while dealing with advertisements,” the ISA’s advisory stated.

So, will the ISA come up with an advisory in view of the latest development, just like it did in April warning its members about advertising on those TV channels that have exited the BARC? 

Vivek Srivastava feels that the ISA would surely look at the interest of its members and probably take some steps for sure.

The FMCG head asserts that the ISA should issue some guidelines for their members as they have to protect the interest of advertisers.

He believes that the sample size, methodology, and methods currently used for news genre will undergo big shift in the times to come, and it will lead to next level of upgrade for the BARC in times to cone.

Will Zee reverse its decision and come back to BARC?

The marketing head feels that Zee will eventually return to the BARC.

It’s an unfortunate development that too coming at a time when there are positive sentiments around high media spends in the forthcoming festive period, says Srivastava. “Such an incident acts as an avoidable dampener to the momentum. I am sure a representative body like BARC will reach out to address the concerns. It’s an aspect that affects the macro and micro issues pertaining to marketing investments of important stakeholders in the ecosystem,” he says.