Rs 100-cr TV ratings scam emerges as MIB plans major reset of India’s audience measurement

A suspected ₹100-crore TV ratings fraud involving a Kerala TV channel owner and a Mumbai-based BARC employee has come under formal investigation. The case, which the Kerala police termed “very serious”, involves alleged payment of bribes to boost channel’s TV ratings.

According to reports, early findings suggest that large payments, allegedly sent via crypto wallets, were made to artificially boost the channel’s TV ratings and, in turn, its advertising earnings.

Investigators have recovered WhatsApp chats and call logs showing BARC employee sharing advance viewership numbers and acknowledging payments with brief messages and emojis.

The alleged racket erupts at a time when the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) is in the middle of proposing a complete revamp of India’s television-audience measurement system.

In its draft policy, the ministry has suggested expanding the national ratings panel to as many as 1.2 lakh households, phasing out BARC’s monopoly by allowing multiple accredited agencies, and sharply tightening conflict-of-interest rules so broadcasters cannot influence measurement bodies.

One of the most contentious proposals is the exclusion of “landing-page” viewership from official TRPs, a direct attempt to close long-criticised loopholes that channels have used to artificially inflate reach.

These reforms are currently open for stakeholder feedback, with broadcasters, advertisers and distribution platforms submitting their responses.

Against this backdrop, the emergence of a ₹100-crore manipulation scheme, involving leaked chats, meter-location targeting and alleged crypto-funded rating distortions, underscores the vulnerabilities the government is attempting to fix.

As per reports, the accused channel reportedly attributed a sudden spike in ratings to a landing-page placement on a small cable network in North Kerala with only about 20,000 subscribers, a claim now under scrutiny given Kerala’s 8.5 million cable homes. Evidence also suggests Premnath supplied PIN codes of neighbourhoods where BARC meters were installed, enabling targeted manipulation of viewing behaviour in those specific pockets.

“In one instance highlighted by investigators, the numbers sent privately by Premnath matched the official BARC weekly ratings exactly, strengthening suspicions of data tampering aimed at elevating one channel while undercutting rivals,” the report said.

The probe began after the Kerala Television Federation filed a complaint with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the BARC CEO. Following the CM’s directions, a team led by the DGP has started gathering digital and financial evidence, treating the matter as an attack on the credibility of India’s ₹50,000-crore TV advertising ecosystem.

Officials claim nearly ₹100 crore flowed into Premnath’s Trust Wallet before being distributed to multiple recipients, hinting at the possibility of similar operations beyond Kerala.

Parallel to the ratings manipulation, the channel owner is also suspected of spending heavily on overseas “phone-farming” setups—in Malaysia and Thailand—to artificially inflate YouTube views, along with paid social-media campaigns designed to create a deceptive aura of popularity.