BARC tells Kerala HC AIDCF misread SC order in TV ratings policy dispute

The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) on Monday urged the Kerala High Court to vacate its interim stay on the implementation of the Centre's Television Ratings Policy, arguing that the relief granted to cable operators was based on an erroneous interpretation of an earlier Supreme Court order on the issue of television landing pages.

Appearing for BARC, senior advocate Abhishek Malhotra contended that the interim protection granted to the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) and DEN Networks was founded on a "misreading" of the Supreme Court's proceedings and that there was no legal basis for continuing the stay on the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's (MIB) policy that excludes landing page-generated viewership from television audience measurement.

The matter pertains to the challenge mounted by AIDCF and DEN Networks against Clause 5.4.1 of the Television Ratings Policy, 2026, which stipulates that viewership generated through landing pages will not be counted for television ratings and that landing pages may only be used as a marketing tool. The Kerala High Court had earlier stayed the operation of this specific provision while hearing the petition.

BARC attacks basis of interim relief

Making detailed submissions before the court, Malhotra argued that judicial precedent discourages courts from staying policy decisions at the interim stage unless exceptional circumstances exist.

"Ordinarily, a policy decision such as the one under consideration ought not to be stayed in the interim," he submitted.

According to BARC, the principal reason the High Court granted interim relief was because AIDCF had argued that the Supreme Court had already restrained the government from implementing any direction relating to landing pages.

Malhotra maintained that this premise was legally incorrect.

He argued that the Supreme Court proceedings were confined to a narrow jurisdictional question—whether the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) possessed the authority to regulate landing pages—and not the substantive merits of whether landing page viewership should or should not be included in television ratings.

"The reading of the Supreme Court order by AIDCF is incorrect since the Supreme Court was only concerned with the issue of whether TRAI had the jurisdiction to regulate landing pages. The Supreme Court is not considering the merits of the matter," BARC submitted.

Malhotra further argued that if AIDCF genuinely believed that the Centre's Television Ratings Policy violated or circumvented the Supreme Court's order, the appropriate legal remedy would have been to initiate contempt proceedings before the apex court itself rather than seek an interim stay before the High Court.

"If AIDCF was so sure that the issue is the same, they should have filed a contempt petition before the Supreme Court," he argued.

On that basis, BARC urged the High Court to vacate the interim order, submitting that "there is no reason to have granted interim relief."

Background of the dispute

The litigation arises from the Centre's Television Ratings Policy, 2026, notified in March this year, which introduced significant changes to India's television audience measurement framework. Among the key reforms was the exclusion of landing page-generated viewership from Television Rating Points (TRPs), with the policy clarifying that landing pages could be used only as promotional tools and not as a source of measurable audience consumption.

AIDCF and DEN Networks challenged the provision before the Kerala High Court, arguing that the exclusion of landing page viewership was arbitrary, commercially damaging for cable operators and contrary to existing legal proceedings before the Supreme Court concerning TRAI's earlier landing page regulations. The High Court subsequently granted an interim stay on the disputed clause pending further consideration.

The Centre has separately defended the policy, arguing that landing pages artificially inflate television ratings and distort audience measurement, while maintaining that excluding such viewership is necessary to preserve the integrity of the ratings ecosystem.

Matter posted for July 21

Following Monday's arguments, the Kerala High Court posted the matter for further hearing on July 21, when the court is expected to continue hearing submissions from the parties before deciding whether the interim stay on the policy should continue.