Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 19: With TV ratings suspended since June, advertisers are backing proven non-fiction shows and India matches. Smaller broadcasters are struggling to show their worth. Digital competition adds to the strain.
India’s television ratings blackout is pushing advertisers towards familiar programming. Established non-fiction shows such as Bigg Boss and Kaun Banega Crorepati continue to attract advertisers. Cricket is drawing advertiser interest too, led by India matches. Smaller broadcasters, however, are feeling the strain more sharply, executives say.
In June, the government barred the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) from publishing ratings. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting acted over non-compliance with TV Ratings Policy 2026. BARC has since raised the share of independent board members to 33%. Its meter count has risen to 77,596, short of the 80,000 target. These meters record what sampled households watch. Cross-media measurement remains outstanding.
Ratings underpin how ad slots are priced and how brands judge returns. Advertisers also use them to set budgets across channels. Without them, advertisers are leaning on proven shows to limit risk.
Bigg Boss has signed 95 sponsors across its language editions. Kaun Banega Crorepati has secured 25. Some marketers had expected reality shows to suffer when ratings stopped. Instead, their track records have reassured brands. A broadcasting executive said brands favour properties with proven benchmarks during uncertainty. High-impact shows have historically commanded premium rates, the executive noted. Reliance on them has grown further during the festive season. Mahesh Shetty, JioStar’s head of TV entertainment sales, said long-standing channel equity builds advertiser confidence.
Cricket is filling another gap. Few marquee events, such as the IPL or ICC tournaments, fall in late 2026. India matches therefore offer brands rare access to mass national audiences. The India-West Indies series drew a strong brand response. The India-New Zealand series is also expected to draw strong interest.
The pain is uneven. Another executive said smaller broadcasters are bearing the brunt, with ad volumes falling. Larger networks are offering extra inventory and other benefits to justify spends. Without data, broadcasters also struggle to judge new shows or pitch them to brands. A long blackout could tilt the market further towards big networks.
A marketer said TV-digital integration helps brands assess content performance. Even before the blackout, buyers weighed channel brand profile and content quality alongside ratings. Such signals, however, are not independent audience measurement.
Television’s troubles predate the ratings ban. TV ad volumes fell 7% in January–July 2026, according to TAM. Audiences and ad budgets have been shifting to digital platforms. FMCG companies have also cut television spending.
The festive season offers some relief. Datum India projects festive ad spending of ₹60,000–62,000 crore in 2026. That would be 13–17% above last year’s ₹53,000 crore. It would form about a third of a ₹1,75,782-crore advertising market. That spending spans all media, not television alone.
The outlook hinges on how quickly BARC completes compliance and ratings return. Until then, proven franchises and cricket may keep their premium. Smaller channels face a harder test as digital rivals keep gaining ground.
