‘Total loss of faith and credibility’: iTV Network pulls out of BARC ratings

iTV Network, which owns news channels like NewsX and India News, has “pulled out” from the Broadcast Audience Research Council’s TV audience measurement system with “immediate effect”, Exchange4Media reported yesterday.

In a statement, the network said it had “raised very serious concerns regarding the reliability/trustworthiness of the ratings, but none of our concerns has been addressed till date”.

“Time and again, we’ve raised our concern and reservations over the arbitrary and unilateral mechanism being used by BARC,” the statement said. “...There is a total loss of faith and credibility in the working of BARC, and we along with many broadcasters are forced to remain connected with BARC because it is the only TV ratings agency and enjoys a dominant position. The unexplained actions of BARC have greatly damaged our networks.”

Earlier this year, Zee Media and NDTV had also opted out of BARC ratings.

Over the years, several TV channels, especially news broadcasters, have complained about “inaccuracies” in BARC’s ratings system. News channels have long used these ratings to aggressively market their viewership; even tiny changes in their numbers trigger slugfests. Read all about it here.

Meanwhile, iTV Network owns eight news channels and four non-news and entertainment channels, apart from print publications and websites. It’s also one of India’s youngest and fastest-expanding media players – but who owns it? Read this report on Newslaundry to find out.