Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 21: The BARC registration delay deepens a market rift over broadcaster control and competition. Without TV ratings, India’s ₹30,000–₹40,000 crore advertising market has lost a key benchmark.
India’s television industry has gone months without official TV ratings. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) is yet to rule on fresh registration applications. They come from Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India and rival TAM India. TAM is a joint venture between Nielsen and Kantar Media. BARC’s previous registration expired in 2025, The Economic Times reported.
BARC measures what Indians watch, producing the ratings that guide advertising spend. The delay deepens a rift over who controls that data. Broadcasters, through the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), own 60% of BARC. The Advertising Agencies Association of India and the Indian Society of Advertisers hold 20% each.
A person familiar with government thinking cited broadcasters’ “stranglehold” on BARC as a key concern. The ministry also wants compliance with the TV Ratings Guidelines 2026, the person said. Controlling ownership raises independence questions, but does not prove data distortion. The ministry is keen to bring competition into a BARC-dominated market. Rival measurement could spur transparency, but methods must be comparable to win trust.
BARC has since appointed new independent directors. It has also expanded its panel to nearly 80,000 meters. These devices track viewing in sample homes, not every viewer. Yet the ministry reportedly remains unhappy on two fronts. One is cross-media measurement, tracking audiences across television, streaming and connected TVs. Advertisers increasingly need this as viewing fragments across devices. The other is the lack of an updated Broadcast India study. That study profiles TV households and underpins BARC’s panel design.
The MIB stopped BARC from publishing audience data in June. News viewership data has been withheld since March. An informal group of ministers is understood to be examining the issue. Without ratings, broadcasters lack a benchmark to prove channel performance and advertising value. Media buyers and advertisers lose a common currency for pricing and planning campaigns. Entertainment broadcasters are paying for news-industry divisions, a regulatory official said.
BARC’s finances are another point of dispute. A Crisil bulletin in late August said its operations remained unaffected. It cited subscription inflows, strong collections, healthy liquidity and minimal debt. A broadcasting industry official offered a starker view. The official claimed all but two broadcasters had stopped paying BARC. That person warned the body was near collapse, a claim not independently verified.
A long impasse could hurt smaller and free-to-air channels most. They have thinner finances to ride out uncertainty. Advertising sales, production and marketing jobs could also suffer. Revenues at DD Free Dish, Hathway and Siti Networks could take a hit.
India’s TV market needs ratings that are independent, reliable and financially sustainable. Until the ministry decides, broadcasters and advertisers remain without that anchor.
