ISA Backs BARC Ratings, Urges Caution While Advertising On Platforms Looking To Exit

With some news broadcasters looking to pull out of Broadcasters Audience Research Audience (BARC) India, the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) has issued an advisory to its members asking them to make an informed decision on running ads on such platforms.

After a 17-month gap, the BARC started reporting news ratings on 17th March following a Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) order. 

The audience estimates for the news genre along with infotainment channels are being released on a four-week rolling average basis.

As reported first by exchange4media, NDTV Limited, which owns and operates NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India, has already pulled out of BARC India over alleged discrepancies in the rating system.

The news broadcasters are unhappy since they feel that the BARC is yet to resolve their issues like misuse of landing page for viewership gain, delay in conducting Broadcast India study, and the likelihood of panel tampering by unscrupulous elements.