NBDA says 'stand vindicated' after MIB missive to BARC on ratings

After more than a year of suspension of TV news ratings, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) on Wednesday asked BARC to release it with immediate effect. The ministry gave the go-ahead after BARC revised its procedures and protocols.

The development has been welcomed by the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA), formerly News Broadcasters Association (NBA), which has said that MIB’s decision has vindicated their stand that the ratings system had deficiencies.

"NBA’s stand is vindicated as ministry stamps the room for improvement, acknowledges the deficiencies and puts a timeline to ratings release and systemic corrections," said the CEO of a leading news channel and a member of NBDA.

In its note directing BARC to resume the ratings, MIB mentioned, “In the spirit of the TRP Committee Report and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI’s) recommendation dated 28.04.2020, M/s BARC undertook an extensive overhauling exercise, revisiting its processes, protocols, oversight mechanism and initiated changes in governance structure, etc. The reconstitution of the Board and the Technical Committee to allow for the induction of Independent Members have also been initiated by the BARC. A permanent Oversight Committee has also been formed. The access protocols for data have been revamped and tightened.”

NBDA has been a vocal critic of BARC’s measurement system since the suspension of the ratings (initially for 12 weeks) in October 2020 following the unearthing of the TRP manipulation scam. It had welcomed BARC’s decision to discontinue the ratings, saying that the suspension is an important step in the right direction, and the measurement agency should use these 12 weeks to completely overhaul its systems and restore the credibility of the information it collects.

In a statement NBDA President Rajat Sharma had then said, “Recent revelations have brought disrepute to the measurement agency and by extension the broadcast news media. The corrupted, compromised, irrationally fluctuating data is creating a false narrative on What India Watches and has been putting pressure on our members to take editorial calls that run counter to the journalistic values and ideals of journalism. The current atmosphere of toxicity, abuse and fake news is no longer tenable and NBA as the custodian and guardian of Indian broadcast media believes a bold step of putting ratings of news genre on hold will help in improving the content.”

Subsequently, when there were talks in the industry about BARC planning to resume the ratings in January 2021, NBDA had written a letter to the agency, requesting it to extend the blackout period for another two to three months. Sources shared that in the letter, NBDA also enquired about the ‘cleansing processes’ that BARC was supposed to take up in the three months of blackout period.