Channels that leave ratings body could face ad drought

With some news broadcasters considering leaving Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) has warned that such channels could face a drought of ads.

The ISA has issued an advisory to its members about running advertisements on such channels — essentially, a “no measurement, no advertising” policy.

The ISA supposedly sent this advisory to all Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) members on April 27.

The BARC had suspended ratings for news channels following a Television Rating Point (TRP) scandal in 2020 and resumed it in January following a directive from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The audience estimates for news and information channels are released on a four-week rolling average basis.

It has been learnt that NDTV Limited, which owns and operates NDTV 24×7 and NDTV India, has already withdrawn from BARC due to alleged rating system inconsistencies.

The news organisation is reportedly discontented because BARC is yet to resolve its issues pertaining to the misuse of the landing page for viewership gain, the delay in conducting a Broadcast India study, and the possibility of panel tampering by unscrupulous elements. CNBC TV18