In a letter to the Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur dated August 8, 2023, the National Broadcasting Federation (NBF) has expressed ‘severe concern’ over attempts to impede weekly viewership ratings and requested the Ministry to ensure that there is no disruption in the publishing of ratings for the news genre as disseminated by the rating agency BARC.
“It has come to our collective attention that there is a group of broadcasters with proven monopolistic interests, who are making attempts to impede the ongoing transparent process of publishing weekly ratings for the news genre. We write to you, with severe concern, to request that there is no disruption in the publishing of ratings for the news genre as disseminated by the rating agency BARC. News ratings are the lifeline of honest news organisations whose existence and sustenance are measured and delivered based on the performance of their weekly ratings by their viewers across India,” the letter said.
The Federation has cited several reasons for the continuance of ratings and underlined its importance in its correspondence.
Rating disruption impact on news genre
The body has said that BARC being the only currency for advertisers to allocate advertising budgets to various genres (GEC, news, music etc.) and channels, stopping data of only the news genre would hit advertisers’ trust and preference for the genre.
“Which in turn will reduce the allocation of budgets to the news genre as a whole. Needless to mention, unlike GEC, with deep pockets and mostly owned by foreign entities, news channels are mostly free to air, and the only source of revenue is advertising,” the letter added.
‘Monopolistic interests with deep pockets’
“It is essential that this Fourth Pillar is not denied its right to sustain itself through honest financial means of advertising which is solely determine by the viewership numbers released by BARC every week. While some monopolistic interests with deep pockets can survive without advertising that comes as a result of ratings, the rest of the news industry would be staring at an inevitable collapse should there be any disruption of the ratings being published by BARC every week in its present form,” it said.
‘Highly uncompetitive market’
Any disruption of publishing ratings of news channels will be detrimental to the entire news industry given that the weekly ratings have a direct impact on the revenue of news businesses, contends the NBF communique.
“As news organisations built with the pure intent to build public awareness in the country, we solely rely on the ratings, on the basis of which advertising is sought. Any disruption of ratings will not only make the genre highly uncompetitive, but it would also ensure that the free market is completely skewed,” it added.
‘News genre should not be singled out’
The NBF pointed out that the news industry had to struggle in the wake of ratings black out for almost 18 months from October 2020 to March 2022. The prospect of singling out of the news industry once again and subjecting it to constant disruptions has a grave impact on the functioning of an industry, it opined in the letter.
While news channels are subjected to repeated disruptions in having access to published weekly ratings, sports channels and GECs do not face such hindrances, it contends.
“Since, advertising rates are primarily determined by ratings, there must not be any unilateral action against the news genre by denying it access to the very determinant. Therefore, in the interests of justice, uniformity, and equality between different broadcasting genres, all channels across genres must be meted out the same treatment,” said the letter.
‘Fiefdom of only monopolistic few’
The strongly worded letter argues that should there be a disruption of ratings, it would give complete control of the news industry ‘to a monopolistic few’.
The stoppage of news ratings helps only a select few news broadcasters’ interests as it happened in 2021, says the letter.
“Without any logic and rationale, news ratings were suspended to go after BARC ratings, their performance (pecking order) is challenged by newly enjoying leaders at national level. These legacy brands will have an unfair advantage if ratings stall. Because in such a scenario, advertisers will continue to prefer legacy brands based on historical experience. And the newly emerging leaders will be denied a fair chance to earn their dividends,” it contends.
Upcoming election year
The letter also notes that the ‘threat to livelihood’ of suspension of ratings comes at a crucial cusp – when it is right out of the impact of Covid19 and on the brink of a general election. Coverage of assembly elections later this year and the lead up to next year’s general election requires large-scale planning of resources and investments, which come from advertising, notes the NBF.
“A General Election year is crucial for any news organisation’s business goals and sustenance. However, any upheaval of the ratings system at this point would leave news channels in an economic lurch on the brink of the momentous election year ahead of us,” it adds.
‘Blocking of newcomers and favouring of legacy players’
Ceding that ratings are based on sample surveys, which may have margins of error, the letter adds that while BARC ratings may not be perfect, they are perfect for all genres (except news).
“Some logic points at discrepancies between digital viewership and TV viewership, forgetting some basic realities, even YouTube viewership is often artificially boosted by paid campaigns,” it adds.
Instances of unfair practices by broadcasters should be dealt with zero tolerance, notes NBF, and adds, “However, considering stoppage of BARC ratings of only the news genre has no logic.”
The letter, a copy of which is with Medianews4u.com, signs off humbly seeking the Minister’s intervention to ensure that ratings of the news broadcast industry are not disrupted and the genre is not singularly acted against.
