#e4mBreaking:  CII calls for TV ratings restoration, flags loss of advertiser confidence

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has called for the restoration of television audience ratings and the adoption of transparent, interoperable measurement standards across television, connected TV and digital platforms, arguing that gaps in audience data are weakening advertiser confidence and limiting the broadcasting sector’s ability to compete.

In its white paper, The New Economics of Media & Entertainment, CII has placed the restoration of television ratings among the key reforms needed to unlock the Indian media and entertainment (M&E) industry’s growth potential. The industry body has also sought greater pricing freedom for broadcasters, the abolition of carriage fees and a reduction in goods and services tax (GST) on television, over-the-top (OTT) and music subscriptions to 5%.

The recommendations come as the industry continues to grapple with the absence of regular television audience ratings, a key input for advertisers and media agencies when deciding where to allocate budgets, evaluating campaign performance and negotiating advertising rates.

Audience measurement provides advertisers with a common reference point to assess the reach and performance of television channels and programmes. For broadcasters, ratings data helps establish the commercial value of their inventory, support advertising sales and guide programming and distribution decisions. CII’s report argues that gaps in ratings weaken advertiser confidence, making the restoration of measurement a priority for the sector.

The industry body has proposed that audience measurement move towards transparent, globally accepted standards that can work across television, connected TV and digital media. Such interoperability would help advertisers assess audiences across screens instead of relying on fragmented measurement systems.

Its recommendation is part of a broader agenda to make broadcasting more responsive to market demand and improve the sector’s ability to attract investment.

Ratings restoration central to broadcasting reform

CII has linked the need to restore television ratings with wider changes to the regulatory and commercial framework governing broadcasting. It argues that measurement gaps, alongside tariff controls, carriage fees and weak audit rights, can constrain market responsiveness and deter investment, particularly in smaller channels.

The report has called for full tariff forbearance, which would remove controls over television channel prices, discounts and packaging, leaving broadcasters and distributors to determine commercial arrangements in response to market demand.

It has also recommended abolishing carriage fees and making must-carry obligations unconditional where a distributor requests a channel’s signal. According to the report, these measures would help protect regional and niche channels whose audiences may be smaller or geographically dispersed.

CII has further proposed annual independent audit rights for broadcasters over subscriber returns reported by distributors. It has argued that better access to subscriber data, alongside more transparent audience measurement, would strengthen the commercial foundations of the broadcasting business.

The recommendations address different parts of the television value chain. While audience ratings help broadcasters demonstrate the value of their content to advertisers, subscriber data and distribution terms influence their ability to monetise channels through distribution networks. CII’s approach seeks to improve both measurement and the commercial conditions under which television channels operate.

Industry's $100 billion ambition

The recommendations form part of CII’s broader roadmap to take India’s M&E sector towards $100 billion in revenue by the early 2030s.

The white paper estimates that the sector generated approximately $32 billion in revenue in 2025, growing 9% year on year. At that rate, it could reach around $64 billion by 2033, leaving a $36 billion gap against the industry’s $100 billion ambition.

CII’s target would require the sector to grow at an annual compounded rate of approximately 15.3% through 2033. The report presents this as an ambition that would require policy and industry action, rather than an assured growth forecast.

Television remains an important part of the sector’s revenue base. CII estimates the television market at $7.1 billion in 2025 and projects it could reach $8 billion by 2033 in its target scenario. The report’s recommendations on ratings, pricing and distribution are intended to strengthen the business environment for broadcasters as competition for advertising and audience attention intensifies across platforms.

The report also identifies internet advertising as the largest segment of the M&E sector, estimated at $10.9 billion in 2025 and projected to reach $47 billion by 2033 in the target scenario. The proposed shift towards interoperable cross-screen measurement reflects the need to evaluate audiences across a media environment increasingly spread between linear television, connected television and digital services.

CII seeks 5% GST on subscriptions

Alongside the ratings push, CII has called for GST on television, OTT and music subscriptions to be reduced from 18% to 5%. The industry body argues that the current tax rate keeps subscription prices high and that lower prices could help expand the paying household base.

It has also recommended separating content regulation from carriage-related matters and retaining the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s role in content regulation, rather than introducing telecom-style authorisation requirements for programming or advertising matters.

On self-regulation, the report has advocated a two-tier broadcaster and industry framework, with the government acting as a backstop instead of becoming a third tier for routine subjective complaints.

CII has also proposed changes to live sports broadcasting rules, including removing per-day uplinking fees, replacing the 15-day registration requirement with 24-hour intimation, waiving fees for late changes outside broadcasters’ control and extending security clearances for the duration of a licence.

Beyond broadcasting, the white paper recommends stronger anti-piracy enforcement, wider access to cinema screens, support for regional markets, a National AVGC-XR Skills Mission and incentives for Indian intellectual property and exports.

The report’s wider objective is to raise the M&E sector’s contribution to India’s GDP from around 0.8% to 2% and increase direct employment from approximately 2.75 million to more than five million. It also sets out an ambition to expand India’s cinema infrastructure to 16,000 screens by the early 2030s.

For television, however, CII’s central message is that growth requires a more reliable basis for valuing audiences. Restoring ratings and developing measurement standards that can operate across screens would address a key information gap between broadcasters and advertisers, while the proposed pricing and distribution reforms seek to improve the commercial environment in which television operates.