Add CTV views in audience measurement, BARC told

Mumbai: The information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry has asked the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to include connected TV (CTV) viewership in its audience measurement framework to strengthen the overall measurement system, as more consumers shift to CTV even as linear television continues to hold strong in many segments, said people familiar with the development.

The move comes at a time when the BARC's registration renewal is pending with the ministry. The rating agency's 10-year registration expired on July 27. The BARC is India's sole television viewership measurement body, jointly promoted by the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation, Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and Advertising Agencies Association of India.

At present, the BARC provides only television viewership data and measures more than 600 TV channels. However, advertisers and other industry stakeholders, including the ISA, have been pushing for cross-media measurement that incorporates CTV, given that the CTV ecosystem has now grown to about 40 million homes. With content consumption shifting from largely linear to a combination of linear and digital across CTV and mobile phones, the need for a unified framework has become more pressing.

"The BARC's registration renewal is pending before the I&B ministry. While the renewal is expected for another 10 years, the ministry has sought some clarifications from the BARC. It has also asked the BARC to include CTV in its measurement system, which is currently not the case," said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified.

Ministry officials confirmed that the renewal process is under active consideration and that some key issues are being discussed with the BARC.

Another person with knowledge of the matter said that the BARC has been working on developing a cross-media measurement system, but the rollout has been delayed due to a lack of industry consensus.

The ministry has also proposed amendments to the television rating guidelines. In a draft released on July 2, it proposed deleting clauses 1.5 and 1.7. Clause 1.5 bars directors of a rating agency from involvement in broadcasting, advertising or media buying, while clause 1.7 sets cross-holding restrictions to prevent overlapping ownership among broadcasters, advertisers and rating agencies. The deadline for public comments on the draft amendments was September 1.

The Internet and Mobile Association of India has also called for a unified and transparent measurement framework for digital platforms. DPOs have urged the I&B ministry to allow them to participate in the measurement process, saying they can help strengthen the system through return path data, which refers to viewership information collected directly from digital set-top boxes.