Mumbai: In a landmark move aimed at enhancing transparency and responsiveness in the television broadcasting ecosystem, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has announced it will discontinue the long-standing four-week rolling average format for viewership data and instead adopt a weekly unrolled reporting system across all television genres, including news.
The change takes effect from Week 24’25 (June 14–20, 2025), with the first set of weekly estimates to be released on June 26, 2025.
BARC stated that the updated methodology is designed to empower broadcasters, advertisers, and media planners with real-time, granular insights into viewership behavior, a shift that industry veterans say will significantly improve editorial accountability, monetization precision, and strategic planning agility.
Industry Applauds a Timely and Strategic Overhaul
Varun Kohli, Chief Operating Officer – News Broadcasting Business, Times Network, called the transition a necessary and progressive evolution for television news: “Transitioning to weekly ratings is a progressive step that aligns with today’s dynamic news environment. It restores strategic clarity through timely, granular insights. Granted some volatility is expected given the nature of news, it will reflect real audience behaviour and offer sharper visibility into performance. This will greatly enhance planning cycles across programming, marketing, and monetization, improving overall operational agility. BARC’s move will significantly strengthen the trust and relevance of television ratings.”
Hersh Bhandari, Chief Executive Officer – Republic World, echoed the sentiment and highlighted how this return to unrolled data supports more accurate decision-making: “BARC’s decision to revert to unrolled data is a welcome move. It brings back transparency and real-time clarity that advertisers and broadcasters need. With spikes and key moments no longer averaged out, this shift allows for sharper insights and more accountable media planning — a step forward for the entire industry.”
A Long-Standing Ask from News Broadcasters
The decision has been especially well-received in the news broadcasting segment, which has consistently argued that the earlier rolling average methodology diluted the immediacy and impact of news content.
R. Jai Krishna, Secretary-General of the News Broadcasters Federation (NBF), emphasized that the new system more accurately reflects audience engagement in the context of breaking stories, elections, or social developments.
“BARC’s move to reinstate weekly release of audience ratings will offer a more accurate, transparent, and actionable picture of audience engagement. News consumption is inherently event-driven — influenced by breaking stories, elections, crises, or social movements. Averaging data over four weeks masks spikes in viewership, underrepresents strong editorial performances, and hinders timely decision-making by advertisers and broadcasters.”
“The previous system of four-week rolling average system used by BARC India for reporting viewership data of news channels had diluted the very essence of what news broadcasting is about — immediacy, impact, and public response to real-time developments.”
“From a business and editorial standpoint, weekly data will reflect real-time impact of news content and editorial strategies, and enable agile advertising decisions and planning for both buyers and sellers. Moreover, it will also encourage accountability and performance tracking for newsrooms.”
“Timely ratings also help restore industry trust, enable data-led debates, and support news channels in strengthening their market presence.”
“Nevertheless, it is time for BARC India to align with global best practices by removing news channels from the niche genre (which is now a negligible fraction of the total audience measurement), and start releasing real-time ratings – similar to sports genre – for news, and that will ensure fairness, credibility, and relevance in television audience measurement process.”
Regional Channels Welcome Real-Time Agility
Regional broadcasters, operating in fast-moving markets, have also praised the decision.
Divaakar S, Business Head – News1st Kannada, noted: “BARC’s move to weekly unrolled ratings is a welcome step that reflects the dynamic nature of the news genre. In a fast-paced market like Karnataka, where every news break can shift viewership, this format gives us sharper visibility and the agility to respond in real time. It brings accountability, boosts editorial competitiveness, and opens up more precise monetisation opportunities for advertisers. At News1st Kannada, we see this as a timely development that will push us to innovate harder and serve our viewers with greater relevance.”
Common Metrics Will Improve Campaign Accuracy
The revised methodology is also expected to benefit advertisers and agencies seeking more precise campaign tracking and performance attribution.
Unnikrishnan B.K., Senior Vice President – Sales at Asianet News Network, emphasized the operational clarity that weekly reporting brings: “BARC’s latest decision to reverse the roll over data to weekly ratings is quite welcome, as rollover data is quite misleading and doesn’t indicate exact numbers. Roll over data gives the trend and not the impact. Also having different language for GECs and News is also a pain point. Roll over data often reflects data manipulation and evaluation of effectiveness of ad campaigns can lead to errors. Going back to weekly data will ensure a common tracking method which will be good for Agencies to measure effectiveness and channels to analyse programme effectiveness.”
With digital platforms offering near real-time audience feedback, BARC’s overhaul is seen as a necessary step in keeping traditional television competitive. As the TV industry undergoes rapid transformation, stakeholders are hopeful this change marks the beginning of a more data-driven, transparent, and globally aligned audience measurement framework in India.
