BARC kicks off roadshows on new measurement system from Delhi

The TechCom will complete the evaluation of proposals received from 27 reputed firms including multinationals from August 14-17, 2013

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | August 8, 2013

Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) began its roadshow yesterday with Delhi being the first stop. The roadshow is aimed at sharing the latest updates from BARC with all constituents across the entire broadcast value chain, and, equally important, to receive feedback and suggestions, so that the new television measurement system is completely robust, transparent and representative.

The Kolkata road show is slated for today. BARC has initiated a series of industry interactions across various cities.

Paritosh Joshi

Paritosh Joshi, Member, BARC TechComm, briefed the gathering of senior broadcast officials and media agency heads among others followed by a Q&A session. Partho Dasgupta, CEO of BARC, was also present.

Joshi pointed out at the outset, “BARC is not a research agency; rather it employs research agencies for various jobs. There will be different agencies for each – establishment study, panel management and data analytics. And the vendors for each function will have no interface with each other. This is to ensure complete transparency and cutting out any scope for 'nobbling'.”

BARC will begin the evaluation of proposals received from 27 reputed firms including multinationals from August 14-17, 2013.

“The establishment study is expected to be over by November-December 2013. It is one of the largest established studies globally involving 2.4 lakh households. The study will help us decide the required number of metered homes among other critical issues,” Joshi said.

The periodicity has not yet been decided but it is not going to be overnight ratings to start with, it was clarified.

Advertising tracking is also not in the scope of work of BARC's measurement system. Joshi also informed that updatation of panel size will take place every six months.

Joshi pointed out, “BARC has a mandate from industry and government to at least double the panel size. So it will start with at least 20,000 panel homes which could be more depending on the cost of meters.”

It was also mentioned that BARC TechComm is looking at cloud-based data dissemination in future as well as creating apps for customised data packages.

When asked when the new ratings system will be operational, Joshi said, “By middle of 2014.”

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Own BestMediaInfo Android app for fastest updates and breaking news. Click here to download for free.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com