I&B ministry directs BARC to suspend TV ratings

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has directed the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to stop publishing television ratings across news and non-news genres until it completes registration under the new Television Ratings Policy, 2026, officials said on Sunday.

The directive expands an earlier suspension of TV news ratings to all genres, effectively putting India’s television audience measurement system on hold until BARC receives approval under the new regulatory framework that came into effect in March, replacing the 2014 policy.

“The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has directed BARC to suspend all television ratings across all genres. This suspension acts as a regulatory hold until BARC successfully registers its license under the new Television Ratings Policy, 2026,” an official said.

BARC, India’s only television audience measurement agency, publishes weekly viewership data that serves as the industry’s benchmark for advertising, media planning and programme evaluation.

Under Clause 14.2 of the Television Ratings Policy, 2026, no rating agency can generate or publish ratings until it complies with the provisions of the new framework. Among the key changes, the policy excludes landing page viewership from television ratings, allowing it to be used only as a marketing tool, and requires broadcasters to disclose any such placement to rating agencies.

It also eases entry norms by reducing the minimum net worth requirement for rating agencies from Rs 20 crore to Rs 5 crore, paving the way for multiple players in the audience measurement business. The framework mandates technology-neutral measurement across cable TV, DTH, terrestrial TV, OTT platforms and connected TVs, requires agencies to expand their sample to at least 80,000 metered homes within the stipulated timeline before gradually increasing it to 1.2 lakh.

It also prescribes quarterly internal and annual external audits, mandates disclosure of methodology and anonymised data, requires compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and introduces graded penalties for violations ranging from suspension of ratings to cancellation of registration.