New Delhi: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has urged the Kerala High Court to vacate the interim stay on a key provision of the Television Rating Policy, 2026, arguing that the order threatens efforts to improve the credibility and accuracy of India’s television audience measurement system.
In an affidavit filed before the court, the ministry said the challenged provision—which excludes viewership generated through landing pages and boot-up screens from television ratings—was introduced after extensive consultations with broadcasters, distribution platform operators (DPOs), audience measurement agencies and regulators.
The affidavit was submitted in response to petitions filed by the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) and DEN Networks, which have questioned the validity of the provision.
According to the government, landing pages have long influenced audience measurement by automatically exposing viewers to channels that secure prominent placement on television sets. Such exposure, it argued, reflects passive visibility rather than deliberate viewing behaviour and can artificially inflate ratings.
“The impugned proviso was introduced to address long-standing concerns regarding the distortion of television audience measurement caused by the placement of television channels on landing pages or boot-up screens by DPOs,” the ministry stated.
The Centre noted that concerns around landing page-driven viewership have been examined for years, with multiple studies, consultations and regulatory exercises undertaken by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) highlighting their potential impact on ratings and market competition.
While the issue remains contentious due to commercial arrangements between broadcasters and distribution platforms, the ministry clarified that the policy does not prohibit landing pages. Instead, it only excludes viewership arising from such placements from audience measurement calculations.
Broadcasters and DPOs remain free to use landing pages for promotional purposes, the affidavit said, but audience measurement should reflect genuine viewer choice rather than exposure generated by platform design.
The government also sought to distinguish the matter from separate proceedings before the Supreme Court concerning TRAI’s landing page regulations. It argued that the Supreme Court case relates to channel placement rules, whereas the present dispute concerns television ratings methodology.
Warning of broader industry implications, the Centre said the interim stay effectively stalls a reform measure framed in public interest after extensive stakeholder consultation. It added that continued suspension of the provision could undermine efforts to ensure accurate ratings, which remain the primary currency for advertising allocation, channel valuation and commercial negotiations across the broadcasting sector.
The Kerala High Court’s eventual decision is expected to influence not only the future treatment of landing page viewership but also the broader direction of television ratings reform in India.
