Television
BARC begins prep to exclude landing pages from TV ratings
New 2026 policy bars such viewership; transition timing raises concerns.
MUMBAI: The TV screen may stay the same, but what counts on it is about to change. The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has begun preparing for compliance with the new TV Rating Policy, 2026, which explicitly excludes landing-page viewership from official ratings. The move signals a structural shift in how television audiences are measured after years of debate around inflated impressions driven by default channel placements.
According to sources, BARC has reached out to subscribers seeking details of designated point persons responsible for compliance undertakings related to landing pages. Broadcasters will now also be required to disclose whether their channels appear on such landing pages.
Under the new framework, any viewership generated through landing pages will not be counted in ratings, with the policy clearly positioning them as a marketing tool rather than a measurement input. The change effectively renders landing-page advantages redundant in the ratings ecosystem.
The development follows earlier discussions within the government on filtering out landing-page exposure. One proposed mechanism involved assigning a distinct watermark to landing feeds, allowing BARC’s meters to identify and segregate such data. Given that the system measures viewership by frequency, this would enable precise exclusion of landing-page impressions.
The policy also tightens accountability for rating agencies, introducing graded penalties for violations. These range from suspension of ratings and forfeiture of bank guarantees to cancellation of registration in cases of repeated non-compliance.
However, the industry’s immediate concern lies in the transition. News genre ratings have already been on hold for nearly two months, with suspension currently in place until May 6. While ratings are expected to resume this Thursday in the absence of further directives, broadcasters remain wary.
There is apprehension that unless the new framework is fully implemented before data release, residual impact from landing pages could still reflect in the numbers. Some industry voices have even suggested a temporary “data-dark” period to allow a clean shift between regimes.
In the interim, there are fears that landing-page usage could spike, as some broadcasters attempt to extract short-term gains before the new rules fully take hold while others push for a stricter reset.
As BARC moves to recalibrate the system, the real test will be timing. Whether the returning ratings truly reflect the new, cleaner methodology or carry echoes of the old will define industry confidence in the months ahead.
