India Proposes Sweeping Reforms to Modernize TV Ratings System

The lone ratings agency, BARC, now employs only 58,000 people meters, or a paltry 0.025 per cent of homes

- OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Thursday unveiled draft amendments to overhaul India's decade-old television ratings framework, aiming to align it with rapidly evolving viewer habits and technological advancements. The proposed reforms seek to dismantle entry barriers, encourage competition, and integrate modern metrics for streaming and mobile viewership, addressing long-standing gaps in the current system.

India's TV ecosystem has seen a revolutionary change ever since the 2014 launch of Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies. With the presence of 230 million TV homes, viewers now heavily depend on smart TVs, mobile apps and streaming services, which the current ratings system finds it challenging to account for.