New Delhi: The Centre has overhauled the framework governing TV audience measurement, granting itself sweeping inspection and audit powers over ratings agencies, while mandating a significant expansion of the viewer panels that determine ratings for every channel.
The information and broadcasting ministry issued the TV Ratings Policy 2026 Friday, replacing rules that had not been updated since January 2014. It takes effect immediately.
The policy lands just three weeks after the ministry used the old rules to order BARC, India’s sole TV ratings body, to suspend the publication of news channel ratings entirely.
On 6 March, citing concerns over “unwarranted sensationalism and speculative content” in the coverage of the Israel-Iran conflict, the I&B ministry directed BARC to withhold TRP reporting for news channels for four weeks or until further notice.
The order followed incidents, such as an anchor making a false claim that Iran had taken 66 American citizens hostage at the US Embassy, a claim corrected on air by a panellist who noted there’s no US Embassy in Iran.
On the new policy, the I&B ministry said, “Policy excludes landing page viewership from measurement; limited to use only as a marketing tool.” The new provisions required transparent methodology disclosure and mandated DPDP (Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023)-compliant data protection, it said.
Inspections & oversight body
Under the new rules, government inspectors can enter ratings agency premises without prior notice when they determine that advance warning would compromise the fairness of ratings. Agencies must provide facilities for continuous monitoring if the government requires it.
The government can also suspend or terminate a ratings agency’s operations for national security reasons without prior notice. Non-compliance with any such directive results in the immediate cancellation of registration and a five-year bar on holding future registration.
The policy establishes a dedicated audit and oversight team within the ministry, tasked with conducting periodic statistical, technical, and field-level audits of all rating agencies. The team can bring in independent specialists. Formal audits must take place at least once a year, with additional audits permitted on the basis of complaints, risk profiling, or what the policy terms “intelligence inputs.”
Agencies must also conduct quarterly internal audits and commission an annual independent audit, both of which must be published on their websites.
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New panel expansion rules
The policy sets mandatory targets for ‘metered homes’—the households whose viewing data forms the basis of all television ratings in the country.
News agencies must deploy at least 80,000 ‘metered homes’ within 18 months of registration, increasing by 10,000 every year until reaching 1,20,000.
Existing agencies—meaning BARC—face a tighter timeline: 80,000 homes within six months of notification, with the same annual increases thereafter.
Agencies must maintain a 10 percent buffer of additional homes beyond the required count, with the actual measurement sample drawn randomly from this larger pool.
A quarter of all metered homes must be rotated annually, in a staggered monthly process, while removing older homes first.
The establishment survey used to estimate India’s total TV-viewing universe must be conducted annually and cover at least ten times the number of metered homes in use.
Clearances & penalties
At least half of every rating agency’s board must comprise independent directors with no association with broadcasters, advertisers, or advertising agencies—direct or indirect.
All directors and key executives, including the CEO, CFO, COO, CTO, and Chief Security Officer, are required to obtain security clearance from the home affairs ministry. Prior ministry approval is required before appointing any of these individuals or making any changes to the board.
No single company or individual can hold equity of 10 percent or more in both a rating agency and a broadcaster, advertiser, or advertising agency. The same restriction applies across multiple rating agencies operating in the same area.
Violations attract escalating penalties. A first offence results in a one-month suspension of ratings. A second violation within the same year brings a two-month suspension and forfeiture of a Rs 25 lakh bank guarantee. A third violation has implications for a three-month suspension and forfeiture of a further Rs 75 lakh guarantee. A fourth violation results in cancellation of registration.
Both bank guarantees must be submitted before registration is issued and remain valid for the full ten-year registration period.
BARC’s industry-led self-regulatory structure is preserved. The board composition and cross-holding restrictions do not apply to bodies, with the industry itself providing the ratings. All other provisions—including panel expansion deadlines, government audits, and the penalty framework—apply in full.
Existing agencies have 30 days from notification to register under the new framework and cannot publish ratings until they do so.
The registration fee is Rs 10 lakh, the registration period is ten years, and registration cannot be transferred.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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