Return of news ratings & transparent functioning: What industry wants from new BARC CEO

Television viewership measurement body Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India last week appointed its third CEO Nakul Chopra. Chopra took over the reins from Sunil Lulla who embarked on an entrepreneurial journey.

Chopra is not new to the ratings body as he joined the BARC India Board in 2016. He was the first person from the advertising fraternity to be elected for the post of Chairman of the TV measurement body (2018-19). The position was earlier chaired by Sudhanshu Vats, former Group CEO of Viacom 18, and Punit Goenka, MD, and CEO of ZEEL. In January 2020, he was appointed a member of its Oversight Committee.

Since Chopra has been associated with BARC for over four years, the industry is hopeful he will have a fair understanding of the issues facing the company. The industry also feels the appointment of a new CEO will help BARC rebuild its image and resolve the ongoing issues related to the TRP scam and the restoration of the news genre ratings.

However, the exit of Lulla at a time when BARC is embroiled in controversies has also raised concerns among the stakeholder.

"Stabilization has been a problem in BARC. In just two and a half years, there have been multiple changes in the senior leadership which is alarming and concerning for the industry. We don't know what is happening at BARC and why so much attrition is happening at the senior leadership level. BARC was among the best in the business when it started. But the TRP scam has damaged its image, and we don’t know how will it restore the faith," shared an industry observer. 

A senior executive at a leading broadcast company, however, added that the appointment of a new CEO could also mean that the board is trying to resolve ongoing issues and bring more transparency to the system.

"Last year has been very tough for the rating agency mainly due to the TRP scam. Even though Sunil Lulla is a veteran in the industry, his job was not easy because of the scrutiny from the government, broadcasters, and other stakeholders. The good thing is that Chopra has been a part of BARC as a chairman and even a part of the tech committee. Therefore, the transition won't be a problem for him. We can expect some key developments under his leadership," he said.

The executive further added that BARC data is crucial for the industry as marketers use it to evaluate every rupee that is spent on advertising.

Even though there might be a lot on Chopra's agenda as he takes over on August 25, 2021, the one that tops the list of demands from the news broadcasting fraternity is the release the news genre weekly data.

"After a year of controversies, we hope the appointment of new BARC CEO will bring more transparency. This also gives a hint that BARC will now soon resume the ratings of news channels. We believe that matters will be resolved with the new leadership at BARC, at least for news broadcasters," said the business head of a leading regional news channel on the condition of anonymity.

Though there were many controversies that BARC faced last year, the biggest one was the TRP scam which tarnished the image of the TV ratings body.  Last October, the Mumbai police claimed to have unearthed the scam naming a national news channel and some regional channels for allegedly tampering with BARC data. Later, Dasgupta and BARC COO Romil Ramgarhia were arrested for their alleged involvement. A massive controversy followed the busting of the scam, and BARC, under the leadership of Lulla, decided to pause the viewership ratings of Hindi, regional, English news, and business news channels.

Apart from the TRP scam, BARC’s functioning was also questioned when, in April last year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a set of recommendations for the television audience measurement body's structure, governance, operations, transparency, and accountability.