TRAI recommends change in structure, methodology of BARC for better TV ratings system

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Tuesday recommended changes to structure and methodology of television ratings monitoring ncy, Brocast Audience Research Council, after concerns were raised over neutrality and reliability of existing system.

Ministry of Information and Brocasting tified policy guidelines for television rating ncies in India on January 10, 2014, under which industry-led body BARC was accredited to carry out television ratings in India.

BARC commenced its operations in 2015 and since n it is sole provider of TV rating services on a commercial basis.

In a statement, TRAI said several concerns relating to neutrality and reliability of existing rating system have been raised by stakeholders, which necessitated a need to review existing television audience measurement and rating system in India.

After a consultation process involving all stakeholders, TRAI recommended that structural reforms are required in governance structure of BARC to mitigate potential risk of conflict of interest, improve credibility, bring transparency, and instill confidence of all stakeholders in TRP measurement system.

composition of Board of BARC India should be changed as part of proposed structural reforms, TRAI said.

It recommended that Board should have at least fifty per cent independent members which should include one member as a measurement techlogy expert, one statistician of national repute from among top institutions of country and two representatives from government or regulator.

Restructured Board of BARC India should provide for equal representation of three constituent Industry Associations -- vertising ncies Association of India (AAAI), Indian Brocasting Federation (IBF) and Indian Society of vertisers (ISA) -- and with equal voting rights irrespective of ir proportion of equity holding.

TRAI also recommended that tenure of members of BARC India board shall be for two years.

Active participation of representatives of vertisers and vertising ncy will bring more accuracy, transparency, credibility, and neutrality in system, due to ir inherent need of vertisers to reach viewers accurately, TRAI said.

constituent Industry associations shall be entitled to minate ir representatives to board membership subject to condition that a cooling period of four years shall be applicable between two consecutive tenures, for any such minee member, it said.

TRAI recommended that tenure of Chairman of Board should t be more than two years and chairmanship shall be rotated among constituent industry associations in every two years.

number of members in technical committee should be increased to five with dition of two external technical experts, it said.

TRAI also recommended forming of an oversight committee to guide BARC India in areas of research, design and analysis and constantly improving rating system.

oversight committee should have representation from National Council of Applied Ecomic Research, IIM, IIT, media research expert and demography expert, minee from Ministry of Information & Brocasting, and TRAI, it said.

Committee should also be responsible for mination or appointment of independent members of board as well as to give policy direction to BARC India, if it is so required, TRAI said.

TRAI also recommended changes in BARC India methodology for a better rating system.

To create a credible and accurate collection of data, multiple data collection ncies need to be encourd, TRAI said.

Competition and multiple ncies for data collection and processing would bring in new techlogies, new research methodologies, new methods in analysis, as well as new and better ways to ensure better data quality, it said.

recommendations came after TRAI suo-motu issued a consultation paper on "Review of Television Audience Measurement and Ratings in India" in December 2018.