The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), India’s television audience measurement body, is staring at a revenue shortfall of at least Rs 60 crore since a full ratings blackout came into effect in July, according to people aware of the matter.
The disruption followed the non-renewal of BARC’s licence under the government’s new TV ratings policy, bringing television audience measurement to a halt across genres. The industry had already been dealing with a disruption to news ratings since March 2026.
The latest impasse has prompted the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) to seek an urgent meeting with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). The bodies want the issue resolved within a week and television ratings restored by October, in time for the Dussehra-Diwali advertising season, said the people cited above.
“The television industry is entering one of its most important advertising periods. Consumer-facing companies step up marketing expenditure around Dussehra and Diwali, making audience measurement particularly important for broadcasters, advertisers and agencies,” Avinash Pandey, secretary general, IBDF, said. The festive season typically brings in a third (Rs 12,000-13,000 crore) of India’s Rs 38,000-crore TV advertising, according to industry estimates.
Industry bodies have argued that allowing the ratings blackout to continue through the festive period could set television further back at a time when the medium is already contending with relatively slow growth and increasing competition from digital advertising.
The government has argued that BARC needs to increase its panel of metered homes to 80,000, ensure 33% independent representation on its board, remove landing-page data from viewership measurement and ensure cross-screen measurement if it has to be compliant with the new ratings policy.
Industry sources say that BARC is prepared on all fronts. It has increased its panel of metered homes to 77,000 from 67,000 earlier within three months and will touch 80,000 metered homes by October. Independent representation, landing-page data removal and cross-screen measurement have also been ensured to meet guidelines under the TV Ratings Policy, 2026.
“Television ratings serve as the industry’s principal currency for measuring programme and channel audiences. Broadcasters use the data to assess programming performance and price advertising inventory, while agencies and advertisers use it to plan campaigns and evaluate reach,” Pandey says.
Without current ratings, market participants have had to work with older audience data and other indicators, potentially making advertising decisions and negotiations more difficult. A prolonged gap could also complicate comparisons of television performance during the festive season, when advertising demand typically rises.
For the television advertising ecosystem, experts said, the timeline is now critical. A ratings revival by October would give broadcasters and advertisers greater visibility going into Dussehra and Diwali. A further delay, industry participants argue, risks extending uncertainty into a period when advertising activity is expected to be particularly important.