BARC defends its stand on ratings efficiency

BARC said that any kind of change takes time, and the same applies for TV measurement

After the not-so-flattering observations of Communications and Information Technology  Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on day one of Ficci Frames, the annual media and entertainment conference, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) ratings agency defended its stand on the matter.

Speaking at a panel discussion on day two of the event, Shashi Sinha, chief executive officer (CEO), IPG Mediabrands, and chairman, technical committee, BARC, said any kind of change took time, and the same applied to TV measurement.

He went on to add that the agency had taken measures to flag abnormalities in viewing patterns of panel homes and would monitor them closely.

“There is an algorithm in the backend that screens for abnormal behaviour in panel homes. We investigate whether there is a content-led reason for the abnormality and if there isn’t we quarantine the home and monitor it closely on the ground. If and when we have enough proof, we take legal action against the said panel home,” Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India, explained.

He added that channels found flouting any of the BARC guidelines or found guilty of malpractice regarding TV measurement had been blocked from the ratings system for up to six months.

Having said that, there are still grievances on the part of the broadcasters. Raj Nayak, CEO of the Colors and Rishtey brands under the Viacom18 umbrella, suggested that pay and free-to-air channels should not be reported together.

“While having rural and urban data has helped, we need more granular data. It is available with BARC, but somehow, it is not given out. Also, I do not think it is fair to put FTA and pay channels in the same bucket as one provides original content while FTA channels are basically re-runs of old shows,” he said.

Media veteran Paritosh Joshi pointed out that the data that formed the basis of the BARC panel design was outdated. To this, Dasgupta said the Broadcast India survey launched last year would provide updated data and would help keep the panel design relevant. Additionally, he added that in order to address measurement of English language channels, BARC was contemplating setting up an affluent panel that would comprise of only the relevant audience.