MIB’s latest TRP draft reinstates bar on broadcasters owning stakes in rating agencies

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has rolled back a proposed relaxation of ownership norms for television rating agencies, reinstating the strict conflict-of-interest rules that bar broadcasters from holding any stake or board position in such entities.

The latest draft amendment issued on November 6, 2025, supersedes the July 2, 2025 notice and restores several provisions that had been proposed for deletion earlier. The changes once again make it clear that broadcasters cannot have any ownership or managerial links with TRP-rating companies, except under the limited self-regulation model of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).

Read e4m update on the proposed MIB changes 

What the July 2025 draft had proposed

The July 2025 draft notice had suggested deleting key clauses, specifically Clause 1.5 and Clause 1.7 of the 2014 guidelines which formed the backbone of the cross-holding restrictions. 

The draft stated that “The clauses 1.5 and 1.7 shall be deleted”.

In practical terms, that proposal would have removed the explicit prohibition on broadcaster representation or equity holding in television rating companies. Industry observers had interpreted it as a significant loosening of the 2014 bar that kept broadcasters and advertisers at arm’s length from TRP measurement.

Read what MIB says on TRP meter panel

What the November 2025 draft restores

The new November 6 2025 amendment reintroduces those very clauses tightening the wall between broadcasters and rating agencies once again.

The fresh draft now reads:

Clause 1.4: “The company shall not have any conflict of interests with broadcasters.”
Clause 1.5: “Any member of the Board of Directors of the television rating company shall not be in the business of broadcasting.”

Clause 1.7: “No single company or legal entity, either directly or through its associates or inter-connected undertakings, shall have substantial equity holding in rating agencies and broadcasters.”

It further defines “substantial equity” as 20 percent or more of paid-up capital, explicitly extending the rule to individual promoters and their connected undertakings.

The amendment also clarifies that these restrictions do not apply to self-regulatory bodies like BARC, stating:

Provided that the eligibility conditions stiputated in clauses 1.5, 1.6 and 1.7 shall not apply under the self-regulation model, where an industry-led body-such as the

Broadcast Audience Research council (BARC)-- directly provides the ratings.

Back to 2014’s conflict-free principle

The original 2014 Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies in India had established a strict separation between content creators and measurement entities. It required TRP agencies to maintain independence, stating that they should be “free from any control or influence of broadcasters and advertisers.”

By re-adopting this language, the November 2025 draft effectively reverts to the 2014 framework, reversing the July 2025 attempt to relax ownership norms.

Implications for the industry

The move reaffirms the government’s commitment to ensuring independent and credible audience measurement after several years of controversy surrounding rating manipulation and cross-interest allegations.

Stakeholders have until December 5, 2025, to submit comments on the new draft, which also proposes a technology-neutral approach and gradual expansion of the TRP panel to 1.2 lakh homes.

If finalised, the policy will completely bar broadcasters from owning stakes or board seats in TRP-rating agencies, except under the BARC-type industry-led model re-establishing a bright line between measurement and media ownership that dates back to the original 2014 guidelines.