After industry push, MIB moves to restore BARC ratings with conditional approval

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) is set to provide a crucial lifeline to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) by granting it provisional registration under the Television Rating Policy 2026, a move that is expected to restart television audience measurement and publication of Television Rating Points (TRPs) after a month-long suspension.

The development comes weeks after e4m first reported that the Ministry was considering allowing BARC to resume ratings even as the formal registration process under the new policy was expected to take more time. As per media reports, the recommendation by the Ministry's BP&L Wing now signals that the government has accepted the industry's argument that a prolonged suspension of ratings would have severe consequences for broadcasters, advertisers and media agencies.

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According to an internal ministry note, the provisional registration will remain conditional upon BARC meeting the remaining requirements laid down under the Television Rating Policy 2026. The provisional approval is expected to remain valid until a review in January 2027, by which time BARC is expected to have completed the remaining compliance milestones.

The recommendation comes after the Ministry, on July 1, directed BARC to suspend publication of television audience data while its registration application under the new policy was under examination. BARC had submitted its application on April 29 following notification of the revised ratings framework.

Industry pressure prompted rethink

The Ministry's decision follows sustained representations from broadcasters, advertisers and advertising agencies, all of whom warned that the absence of a common television currency was disrupting media planning and threatening television advertising revenues.

Broadcasters argued that continued suspension of ratings would accelerate the migration of advertising budgets towards digital platforms at a time when television advertising growth was already under pressure.

Media agencies and advertisers also conveyed that the absence of verified audience data had made television media planning increasingly difficult, affecting campaign evaluation, budget allocation and negotiations across the advertising ecosystem.

The Ministry appears to have accepted these concerns while balancing them against its broader objective of implementing structural reforms in India's television measurement system.

BARC outlines compliance progress

BARC reportedly informed the Ministry that it had made significant progress towards meeting the requirements of the Television Rating Policy 2026.

One of the most significant milestones relates to panel expansion.

BARC told the Ministry that its television measurement panel has grown to 70,876 homes, bringing it closer to the mandatory threshold of 80,000 metered households, which it expects to achieve by December this year.

Under the new policy, ratings agencies are required to maintain a minimum panel of 80,000 homes before expanding the sample by 10,000 homes annually until it reaches 1.2 lakh households. The expanded panel is intended to improve representation across regions, languages, demographics and viewing platforms.

Governance overhaul underway

BARC has also initiated governance reforms prescribed under the new framework.

In a recent BARC meeting last month, BARC also informed the members that it has amended its Articles of Association and is awaiting approval from the Registrar of Companies. Simultaneously, the search for an additional independent board member is underway.

Strengthening governance has been a central objective of the government's new ratings framework, particularly following concerns over conflicts of interest within audience measurement bodies. Earlier drafts of the policy had proposed restricting broadcaster representation on the board while significantly increasing the role of independent directors.

Landing-page exclusion system ready

Industry executives also stated that the Ministry has been informed that BARC has completed testing of the algorithm designed to exclude landing-page viewership from official television ratings. Additionally, BARC has operationalised a secure digital portal through which broadcasters can submit mandatory landing-page declarations.

BARC has reportedly commenced integrating Connected TV (CTV) households into its measurement panel as part of the ongoing panel expansion.

The ratings body has indicated that CTV data is expected to become part of published television ratings from December 2026, although efforts are being made to advance the rollout.

The inclusion of Connected TV measurement addresses one of the long-standing gaps in India's audience measurement system. The Ministry had earlier observed that BARC's conventional panel did not adequately capture viewing on smart televisions despite rapid growth in connected viewing across urban India.

Beyond television measurement, BARC reportedly is also working towards a unified cross-media measurement framework. The organisation has partnered with Comscore to undertake a proof of concept covering linear television, OTT platforms and digital media.

BARC has also informed the Ministry that it has complied with other eligibility conditions relating to licence fees, submission of bank guarantees and appointment of nodal officers.

The latest proposal seeks to restore television audience measurement across genres while allowing BARC additional time to complete the remaining governance, panel expansion and technology requirements mandated under the government's reformed ratings framework.