MIB flags gaps in TV ratings: BARC monopoly, CTV viewership void, and entry barriers

New Delhi: With just 58,000 people meters tracking viewership across a massive 230 million television households, merely 0.025% of Indian TV homes, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has acknowledged a widening credibility gap in the country’s television ratings system.

Compounding the issue, the existing TRP framework fails to capture growing consumption on smart TVs, streaming platforms, and mobile devices, raising concerns over its relevance in today's media landscape.

To address these systemic flaws, the ministry has released a draft policy proposing sweeping reforms to the decade-old Television Rating Points (TRP) guidelines. The aim is to democratise the ratings ecosystem, encourage competition, and reflect the full spectrum of content consumption in India’s digital-first environment. 

The draft, issued on July 2, 2025, is now open for public and stakeholder consultation for 30 days.

At the heart of the issue lies an outdated methodology overseen solely by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), which does not track viewership from connected TV devices. 

MIB said that the current policy, framed in 2014, also includes restrictive clauses and cross-holding limitations that have kept new players, broadcasters, and advertisers from investing in or developing alternate measurement solutions, even if equipped with better technology or capital.

MIB highlighted the issues with the current TRP system:

1. BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) is currently the only agency providing TV ratings.
2. It does not track connected TV device viewership, despite it being a major trend.
3. Existing policies had entry barriers that discouraged new players from entering the TV ratings sector.
4. Cross-holding restrictions prevented broadcasters or advertisers from investing in rating agencies

The draft proposes removing these barriers, relaxing key provisions, and laying the groundwork for a multi-agency ecosystem that brings more transparency, innovation, and relevance to India’s audience measurement landscape.

What’s new in the draft policy?

To address these limitations, the draft proposes several key changes:

Clause 1.4 modified: The previous rigid requirement on a company’s Memorandum of Association (MoA) has been relaxed. The new clause simply prohibits activities like consultancy or advisory roles that may pose a conflict of interest with the main objective of ratings.

Entry barriers removed: Restrictive clauses 1.5 and 1.7, which blocked potential entrants, have been proposed for removal. This opens the door for new players to participate in audience measurement.

Cross-holding reconsidered: The new framework could allow broadcasters, advertisers, and tech partners to invest in or support new measurement agencies, encouraging innovation and stronger infrastructure.

According to MIB, the proposed amendments aim to allow multiple agencies to foster healthy competition, bring in new technologies, and provide more reliable and representative data, especially for connected TV platforms. 

It wrote, “As viewing habits evolve, so must the way we measure them. The amendments will also enable more investments from broadcasters, advertisers, and other stakeholders to improve rating technology and infrastructure. With these reforms, India aims to build a more transparent, inclusive, and technology-driven TV rating ecosystem.”