iWorld
‘Common standard’ good to measure ‘unbundled’ viewership & ads cost-effectiveness: EKAM
MUMBAI: BARC India has announced the phased roll-out of its much-awaited digital measurement service.
EKAM Pulse will measure video ad campaigns and will be the first digital offering to be rolled out by BARC India. EKAM Beam, the next product lined up for release, will measure linear broadcast that is viewed on a Digital device. EKAM Stream, will measure both non-linear and pure play digital video content. BARCIndia will also provide industry with EKAM Ad-Scan – which will be a global first-of-its-kind product.
EKAM Integra – will help industry with common, robust and independent audience numbers that will give more accurate incremental reach figures. To do this,BARC India’s TV data will be tied with Digital Video data with the help of Single-Source and Digital Booster panels on top of the census measurement and big data.
www.indiantelevision.com spoke to a cross-section of the industry on the new scale. Sony Pictures Networks India EVP and Head – Digital Business Uday Sodhi, and Dekkho co-founder Tanay Desai both find the proposed new system interesting.
Speaking on the announcement, Sodhi said, “While digital advertising spends in India have witnessed exponential growth over the past couple of years, measuring the cost-effectiveness of video advertisements across TV and digital properties has been one of the biggest pain points for brands in India. The launch of EKAM by BARC India comes as a very welcome development in such a scenario. Not only will it allow advertisers to analyze quantifiable differences in video ad impressions, but will also allow them to see unique and de-duplicated reach and frequency across multiple platforms to accurately ascertain the ROI. It will enable fairer pricing for both advertisers and publishers, and will allow for incremental ad revenues for platforms which provide the maximum consumer reach and impressions. Looking forward to the market launch of the EKAM suite of products and the disruption it will bring in the digital ad industry.”
On the launch of the BARC digital measurement tool, Zee Entertainment Z5 Business head of digital – India Archana Anand said:
“This is a very positive development, not just for the OTT segment but for the media industry at large. Given the pace at which the digital entertainment industry is growing, it is becoming more and more critical to have a standardized tool for measurement. A common currency for digital measurement will allow OTT players to benchmark their performance better across standardized metrics and catalyse overall growth of the industry. This will also help broadcasters get a holistic and more integrated analysis of their viewership across broadcast and digital media, enabling them to feel a greater sense of ownership rather than feeling that they are losing out to digital.“
Viacom18 digital venture’s COO Gaurav Gandhi: said While digital video services are all fully measurable, there is no common industry measurement nor is there common standard for things like viewability.
Having a common industry measurement will help all industry stakeholders. It will be a big boost to the fast growing digital video business to realize fair values for audience delivered and help the agencies to plan across TV and digital video better (as well as across various digital video services) – as they will now be able to implement true cross media plans. It will also give more confidence to the advertisers that their audience deliveries are backed by a common industry validated source.”
Dekkho co-founder Tanay Desai replied to indiantelevision.com queries:
Was it eagerly awaited? How do you see it?
Tanay Desai: BARC ‘s Ekam measurement system was eagerly awaited given the lack of transparency in Indian digital media. Today, advertisers on mainstream platforms are often unaware about their exact spends, resulting into 60% inaccuracy in reporting at times. The common denominator for measurement will be challenging to implement — in terms of defining what makes a view, along with specialised metrics for mobile and web for demographic measurement.
Which are the other methods you have been using?
Tanay Desai: In-house analytics along with trusted and verified third party vendors to track activity on video, channel and page level. Metrics include engagement, source of session, demographic and geographic data. Dekkho allows advertisers to associate with individual videos, channels and pages of content unlike a fully automated/programmatic allocation system. This ensures brand safety and correct targeting while optimising use of media spends for brands aiming for specific audiences.
How would it give a fillip to the ecosystem?
Tanay Desai: OTTs that belong to production houses often sell inventory on a bundled basis. i.e. – TV + digital. This results into little transparency regarding actual views on digital. With the new system in place, digital viewership measurement will be isolated from TV be it a production house backed OTT or an independent aggregator. On the other hand, OTT players themselves will command higher CPMs through superior audience targeting. Media agencies and buyers will have relative knowledge i.e. – compare one OTT’s offering with its peers while spending on behalf of clients.
Gaming
India’s new online gaming rules take effect today, banning money games and creating a regulator
The rules, in force from today, separate e-sports from gambling and impose jail terms and stiff fines on violators
NEW DELHI: India’s online gaming sector woke up this morning to a new reality. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026, came into force today, May 1st, turning a year of legislative intent into enforceable law. The message from New Delhi is blunt: e-sports and social games are welcome; online money games are not.
The rules operationalise the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act, passed by Parliament in August 2025. Together, they represent the most sweeping regulatory intervention India has made in its booming digital gaming market, one that generated Rs 23,200 crore in 2024 and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 11 per cent to reach Rs 31,600 crore by 2027. The stakes, in every sense, could not be higher.
A sector out of control
The urgency behind the legislation is not hard to find. An estimated 45 crore Indians have been affected by online money gaming platforms, with losses exceeding Rs 20,000 crore. Addiction, financial ruin, money laundering, and suicides have all been linked to the sector. Seventy-seven per cent of the market’s revenues came from transaction-based games, a figure that made regulators deeply uneasy.
The government’s response, effective as of today, is categorical. Online money games, whether based on chance, skill, or any mix of the two, are banned outright. So is their advertising, promotion, and facilitation. Banks and payment processors are barred from handling related transactions. Unlawful platforms can be blocked under the Information
Technology Act, 2000.
The penalties are designed to sting. Offering or facilitating online money games can attract up to three years in jail and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore, or both. Repeat offenders face a minimum of three years, extendable to five, with fines between Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore. Advertising such games carries up to two years in prison and fines of up to Rs 50 lakh, with repeat violations attracting higher penalties still. Cyber cell officers at state and union territory levels, including at police station, district, and commissionerate levels, are empowered to investigate offences.
The new sheriff in town
At the centre of the new framework sits the Online Gaming Authority of India, a digital-first regulator constituted as an attached office of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, headquartered in Delhi. It is chaired by the additional secretary of MeitY and includes joint secretary-level representation from home affairs, finance, information and broadcasting, youth affairs and sports, and law and justice, a deliberately multi-sectoral design built for a complex sector.
The authority’s powers are broad. It will maintain and publish lists of online money games, investigate complaints, issue directions, orders, and codes of practice, hear appeals on user grievances, and coordinate with financial institutions and law enforcement to ensure effective and timely action.
Its decisions on game classification are to be completed within 90 days, a time-bound commitment that industry players have welcomed after years of regulatory ambiguity. Classification can be triggered by the authority acting on its own initiative, by an application from a service provider, or by a notification from the central government. Games will be assessed on objective factors: whether stakes are involved, whether players expect monetary winnings, the revenue model, and whether in-game assets can be monetised outside the game. The outcome is recorded in a determination order specific to the game and provider.
E-sports gets its moment
While the crackdown on money gaming dominates today’s headlines, the rules also carve out a structured path for e-sports and online social games. Registration, required when notified by the central government, applies to all games offered as e-sports and is based on factors including risk to users, scale, financial transactions, and country of origin. A successful application yields a digital certificate of registration with a unique number, valid for up to ten years. Service providers must display registration details, designate a point of contact, comply with data retention requirements, and follow directions on facilitating payments.
Online money games are explicitly ineligible for recognition or registration as e-sports under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025. The separation is deliberate, and the industry has noticed.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, called today’s operationalisation “encouraging,” pointing to publisher-led registration of esports titles and a time-bound determination process as creating “much-needed certainty for all stakeholders.” He added that the “continued emphasis on clearly separating esports from online money gaming is critical in preserving the integrity of competitive gaming as a skill-driven discipline.” He described it as “a proud moment to see official acknowledgement of the broader benefits of responsible esports and gaming, from building confidence, discipline, and teamwork to creating new career pathways for young talent,” and said the framework sets “a strong foundation for the ecosystem to scale in a more structured and globally competitive manner.”
Animesh Agarwal, co-founder and chief executive of S8UL, was equally bullish. “This clarity is critical in unlocking investor confidence and attracting multi-genre brands, while also enabling organisations to take a more long-term view, whether in investing in talent, scaling teams, or building globally competitive formats,” he said, adding that it “strengthens trust among audiences and mainstream stakeholders, positioning esports not just as a sport, but as a fast-growing youth entertainment category in India.”
But Agarwal urged caution on several fronts. There remains limited clarity around financial frameworks, particularly in how esports earnings are treated by banks and financial institutions. A well-defined pathway for the formal recognition or registration of esports teams is still evolving, as are structured player protections. He also called for smoother visa processes for esports athletes competing in international tournaments and for government support in developing infrastructure, including bootcamps, training facilities, and access to high-performance equipment across titles.
Vishal Parekh, chief operating officer of CyberPowerPC India, pointed to downstream effects on education and careers. “With formal recognition and policy backing, colleges and institutions are more likely to take the sector seriously, whether through dedicated esports infrastructure, training programmes, or curriculum integration,” he said, adding that this helps students view gaming as a viable career spanning roles across competitive play, content, game development, and allied industries. He noted that as esports gains prominence in global multi-sport events, the framework strengthens India’s position in international competitive gaming, and called on the ecosystem to provide the right infrastructure and access to high-performance hardware to unlock opportunities in talent development and job creation.
Protecting users, one safeguard at a time
The rules introduce a layered system of user protections calibrated to the risk profile of each game. These include age verification, age gating, time restrictions, parental controls, user reporting tools, counselling support, and fair-play and integrity monitoring. Service providers must disclose their safety features and internal grievance mechanisms when applying for determination or registration.
A two-tier grievance redressal system sits atop these safeguards. Users who are dissatisfied with a platform’s resolution can escalate to the authority within 30 days. The authority aims to dispose of such appeals within a further 30 days. A second appeal lies before the secretary of MeitY, who must also endeavour to resolve matters within 30 days. Enforcement proceedings will be conducted in digital mode wherever possible, with cases targeted for resolution within 90 days from receipt of a complaint.
Penalties under the framework are proportionate, taking into account gain from non-compliance, loss to users, the gravity of the offence, and whether violations are recurring. Mitigation efforts by service providers will also be considered when determining penalties. All penalties imposed under the Act will be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India.
The money follows the rules
For investors and founders, the implications are immediate and significant. Sagar Nair, head of incubation at LVL Zero Incubator, a 100-day sprint designed to accelerate early-stage gaming startups across India, argues that with real-money gaming now prohibited, capital will shift “away from transaction-driven models toward content-led, IP-driven, and global-first gaming businesses.” He acknowledged trade-offs: for operators with exposure to real-money formats, the market becomes more restrictive in the near term. But he argued that by clearly separating esports and non-money gaming from online money gaming, “India is positioning itself as a hub for responsible, creative, and scalable game development.” The opportunity, he said, is “to view India not just as a monetisation-first market, but as a talent, IP, and scale market,” adding that “for founders and investors willing to adapt, this shift could ultimately strengthen India’s position in the global gaming landscape.”
The government frames the wider impact in equally ambitious terms: a boost to India’s creative economy and digital exports, new career pathways for young people, protection for families from predatory platforms, and a stronger voice in global digital governance. India, it argues, offers a model for other countries grappling with the same tensions between gaming’s economic promise and its social risks, one that shows innovation and strong safeguards need not be mutually exclusive.
Whether the framework delivers on those promises will depend on enforcement, always the hardest part. But from today, the architecture is firmly in place: a regulator with teeth, a classification system with deadlines, penalties designed to deter, and a clear dividing line between games that build careers and games that destroy finances. For a sector that has grown fast and governed itself loosely, May 1st, 2026 is the day the free ride ends.
