TV viewership tracker BARC India this week resumed the publication of weekly viewership data on the Indian television sector, after regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) shot off a show-cause notice to BARC for non-compliance with its orders.
TRAI had instructed the agency to release viewership data during the industry’s migration to TRAI’s new tariff order. BARC, in response, had stated that putting such misleading data on its website would be against public interest and could be misused by vested interests. BARC had stated earlier that it would wait for the migration to be completed before resuming the release of viewership data, because the new tariff order was expected to affect viewership and reach of channels as consumers changed their packs.
BARC had also noted that Benchmarks based on pre-regulation behaviour would not be applicable since respondents would still be in the process of transition to different channel packs and adjusting to a new paradigm, with consumer behaviour becoming assessable after things had settled down.