Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has resumed ratings for individual news channels, with the release of data for Week 10 of 2022.
BARC India temporarily suspended the viewership ratings of the news channels in October 2020 amid allegations of a Television Rating Point (TRP) scam.
Following an industry-wide consultative process, the BARC Team, along with BARC TechComm, developed the Augmented Data Reporting Standards for News and Special Interest genres, aligned with the industry’s needs, BARC India stated.
“As per these revised approved standards, audience estimates for these genres will only be released based on a four-week rolling average, every week,” it said.
A level playing field had been ensured for all channels within its ecosystem, with a single YUMI login access to the audience estimates. There would also be no change in the weekly data release cadence.
“Sensitive to the industry’s need for past data for informed and equitable decision making, and as advised, BARC India will also release data for the previous 13 weeks, i.e., for the period of Week 49, 2021 to Week 9, 2022, only for the channels that have not chosen to opt out from receiving this data, which will also be based on a four-week rolling average. This data will be released over the next three working days,” it said.
“This review process has not only resulted in a statistically sound and effective solution which works in the interest of the entire ecosystem but has also helped evolve changes in the reporting for Special Interest Genre Channels,” it added.
