Top TV executive urges government to lift BARC ratings suspension ahead of festive season
A top television executive has strongly urged the government to immediately restore audience ratings ahead of the festive season, warning that the blackout is creating severe uncertainty for broadcasters and advertisers. Speaking at FICCI FRAMES on Tuesday, Kevin Vaz, CEO of entertainment at JioStar and chair of the FICCI media and entertainment committee, called for the urgent resumption of data from the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).
The ministry of information and broadcasting had directed BARC to suspend all TV ratings on 3 July until it completes registration under the new Television Ratings Policy, 2026, which mandates larger sample sizes and independent audits.
“The industry strongly urges the ministry to restore the release of BARC audience ratings immediately. The absence of credible, verifiable audience data is creating uncertainty for broadcasters, advertisers and agencies, particularly during the crucial festive season. Reliable measurement is essential for brands to plan campaigns and reach audiences efficiently,” Vaz added.
He added that reliable audience measurement is vital during times of global economic uncertainty to maintain industry efficiency, support both advertisers and broadcasters, and sustain domestic economic momentum.
“As new value pools emerge, we also need to create the right conditions for the industry to grow and innovate. This brings me to the regulatory environment. The need for forbearance has long been an ask from the broadcasting sector, because innovation needs room to evolve, and as we pursue the next phase of growth, self-regulation and strong industry best practices should be central to how we move forward,” Vaz said.
“A tangible roadmap is needed to remove the regulatory burden and cost of linear broadcasting, allowing it to evolve alongside digital and giving consumers greater choice in how, where and on which screen they consume content,” he added.
Vaz said the broadcast industry welcomes and thanks the ministry of information and broadcasting for removing the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour, which he termed as an important step towards a regulatory framework that reflects the changing realities of linear broadcasting and the wider media landscape.
Stopgap metrics
To be sure, broadcasters are relying on historical ratings, genre-level trends, audience composition data, past campaign performance, and cross-platform metrics from digital and connected-TV inventory while ratings remain suspended. While many already use these inputs during negotiations, industry experts note they cannot fully replace a common industry benchmark. Legacy data and internal analytics allow the market to function temporarily, but serve as a stopgap rather than a complete substitute.
These alternative metrics offer useful insights but fall short of an independent, industry-wide ratings system, Akshat Pande, managing partner at Alpha Partners, said in an earlier interview.
Consequently, advertisers are demanding greater transparency, negotiating pricing more aggressively, and prioritizing measurable campaign outcomes. Pande said that some brands are also shifting a larger share of their advertising budgets toward digital platforms, where audience measurement is more robust.
