TAM applies for ratings licence, eyes RPD-led cross-screen measurement

TAM Media Research has applied for a licence to measure television audiences under the government’s new Television Ratings Policy, 2026, potentially paving the way for the company’s return as a ratings player in India. People familiar with the development confirmed the development to e4m.

TAM’s proposed measurement architecture is understood to start with return-path data (RPD) and subsequently expand into cross-screen measurement through partnerships, including its existing collaboration with connected TV measurement company VTION. The approach signals that TAM could seek to build a measurement proposition around multiple data sources rather than simply recreate the traditional panel-led television ratings model.

The application marks a significant shift from the position TAM had publicly articulated after the revised policy was notified in March. TAM had earlier indicated that, following its joint venture with BARC India, it was willing to support BARC in the next phase of measurement depending on industry requirements.

Its decision to seek a licence now indicates that TAM is looking to play a more direct role in the ratings ecosystem under the new framework, which allows multiple ratings agencies to operate.

RPD-led architecture with CTV partnerships

TAM’s proposed model is expected to use RPD as an initial source of audience data before expanding measurement across screens through partnerships.

The approach could give TAM access to large-scale television consumption data while allowing specialised partners to provide additional capabilities around CTV and digital audiences.

In June, TAM Media Research partnered with VTION to launch CTV Ad Pulse, combining TAM’s advertising monitoring capabilities with VTION’s connected TV audience measurement. The solution links ad exposure with viewing behaviour on CTV and is designed to measure audience profile, reach, frequency and campaign delivery across markets.

VTION uses passive, consent-based measurement through a panel of more than 100,000 smartphones and has extended the opted-in panel framework to connected television. The partnership could therefore provide TAM with an existing route to connect television and digital-screen behaviour as it develops its broader measurement architecture.

MIB explores CTV measurement capabilities

The development comes as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) is examining how television measurement can adapt to changing consumption patterns across linear television, smart TVs and connected devices.

People familiar with the matter said the ministry has reached out to both TAM and Chrome DM to understand their capabilities in CTV measurement.

Chrome DM operates an automated CTV measurement system that captures viewing data at scale. The company has previously said that television measurement will increasingly need to combine multiple sources of data, including census-level data with representative panel data for demographic profiling.

The distinction could become important under the new policy. While representative panels remain critical for establishing audience demographics and a common television currency, automated CTV and RPD systems can provide large volumes of device-level viewing information.

Technology alone not enough

Industry executives caution that obtaining a measurement licence is only the first step towards establishing a viable ratings currency.

“A ratings agency is not simply a company that can count television screens. It needs a representative panel, field operations, people meters, and other measurement infrastructure, data processing, statistical modelling, quality controls, governance mechanisms, and the ability to withstand scrutiny from broadcasters, advertisers, and agencies,” a senior broadcasting executive said.

The revised policy has reduced the minimum net-worth requirement for ratings agencies from Rs 20 crore to Rs 5 crore, but the cost of building a national measurement operation remains significantly higher.

Industry estimates suggest that establishing a nationwide ratings operation could require investments of more than Rs 1,000 crore, once panel expansion, people meters, field operations, technology, data infrastructure and personnel are considered.

A more fragmented ratings ecosystem?

TAM’s application could accelerate discussions around whether India’s future ratings ecosystem will consist only of full-service ratings agencies or whether specialist providers will supply different components of the measurement stack.

One possible model could see representative panels providing demographic measurement, RPD and automated CTV systems supplying large-scale consumption data, and a ratings entity combining these sources into a final currency.

Such a framework could provide advertisers and broadcasters with a more granular view of audiences, but would also raise questions around methodology, weighting, deduplication, auditing and governance.

For TAM, the licence application, combined with its VTION partnership, suggests that its potential return to the market could be built around a broader cross-screen measurement proposition, rather than simply recreating the traditional television ratings model.

The key question now is how TAM’s proposed RPD-led architecture will fit into the regulatory framework and whether the industry ultimately moves towards multiple full-service ratings agencies or a more modular ecosystem in which specialist companies contribute different layers of audience data.