A lot has been said about TRAI’s recent recommendations for a major overhaul in the operational framework of BARC India. While some suggest it’s just a recommendation, others have called it a draconian move. However, what remains unanswered in the whole debate is - who will pay for the extra BAR-o-Meters that TRAI has recommended. Broadcasters, advertisers or TRAI itself? No one seems to have an answer for that.
BAR-O-meters are used to record data for BARC and TRAI wants to raise the number of these from 44,000 to 66,000 by the end of 2020 and to 1,00,000 by the end of 2022.
This and other recommendations of TRAI have not gone down well with the stakeholders who say they are happy with the way BARC is functioning at the moment and do not want any changes to that, let alone sponsoring the change.
According to a senior industry person, “BARC India’s sample size is a sizeable one and is the largest sample if compared to any other measurement body across the world. If BARC has to abide by TRAI’s recommendations and increase the sample size to 1,00,000 homes who will fund the same? It isn’t as easy as scripted by TRAI since there is a huge investment to be made both in terms of capital expenditure and operational expenses.”
Other industry experts shared that a single unit of a BAR-O-meter approximately costs Rs 15,000 and the recurring annual cost to maintain the existing 44,000 meters comes to about Rs 70 crore. As per simple pro rata calculations, if an additional 20,000 BAR-O-meters are to be installed by the end of the year, BARC might have to shell out nearly Rs 60 crore, 50% of which would be a one-time cost and the remaining an annual recurring expense.
Broadcasters, analysts and experts have all mentioned in their arguments against the TRAI recommendations that the regulator body has left out mentioning anything about who would sponsor the additional BAR-O-meters.
As it turns out, large networks already pay as much as Rs 40 crore to Rs 50 crore annually to BARC. Whether they are ready to pay more for the meters is the big question given not all stakeholders will gain from the ratings if changed. BARC, according to sources, is 85% funded by broadcasters. The big question here is - in a year of pink slips, pay cuts and tumbling top lines are broadcasters ready to bear any extra burden?
The answer is no, say broadcasters. “Extra meters do not guarantee extra viewership,” an industry expert pointed out. “Increasing the number of meters has no incremental value, so increasing the number of meters is only wastage of funds and no one wants to sponsor this wastage,” he added.
However, cash crunch is not the only reason why no on one will volunteer to pay up for the extra meters. One of the big stakeholders said: “It’s unwarranted interference. BARC is an industry-funded and industry-managed currency used by the industry to trade amongst themselves. The regulator should limit themselves to consumer issues. Industry bodies are capable of handling their own issues.”
The broadcasting community backs this notion. “One cannot expect only broadcasters to always support BARC given the already high financial burden on the broadcast industry. Not everyone will come forward to support the measurement body financially and certainly not TRAI,” said a broadcaster on the condition of anonymity.