Mumbai: The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has named Gaurav Banerjee, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), as its new Chairman. Banerjee replaces Shashi Sinha, whose two-year tenure was marked by an aggressive push into digital measurement and a sharp rise in installed meters.
Earlier, Gaurav Banerjee had associated with Broadcasters Audience Research Council (BARC) India as member of its technical committee during his days with Disney Star in the year 2022.
Banerjee assumes leadership as the television and streaming landscape converges, demanding sharper, more transparent cross-platform metrics. Industry observers expect his appointment to inject fresh momentum into BARC’s roadmap after Sinha’s modernisation drive, which broadened coverage of premium homes and deepened data granularity across India’s sprawling media market.
With more than 20 years in media and entertainment, Banerjee blends editorial flair with board-room discipline. At SPNI, he steers company-wide strategy and operational efficiency while sitting on the boards of MSM-Worldwide Factual Media and Bangla Entertainment (BEPL).
Before joining SPNI in 2023, Banerjee oversaw content at Disney+ Hotstar. Under his watch, the platform’s Hindi and regional originals slate exploded, fuelling both subscriber additions and watch-time gains. Earlier, he captained Star India’s Hindi entertainment cluster, elevating flagship channels Star Plus and Star Gold to ratings dominance and launching regional leaders Star Jalsha and Star Pravah.
A journalist by training, Banerjee began his career in news before earning a master’s in Filmmaking and TV Production from Jamia Millia Islamia. He also holds a history degree from Delhi’s St. Stephen’s College. Off-screen, he is known for a passion for cricket and a cinephile’s eye for cinema across genres—interests that colleagues say keep him closely attuned to shifting audience tastes.
Banerjee’s dual focus on creative insight and operational discipline aligns with the council’s plan to refine currency metrics for both linear and digital viewing. As advertisers seek unified measurement solutions, his mandate will include strengthening transparency, accelerating technological innovation and expanding meter penetration in under-represented markets.
Banerjee’s elevation underscores a broader trend: traditional broadcasters are increasingly tapping executives steeped in both streaming and linear television to navigate India’s rapidly evolving media economy. With his appointment, industry stakeholders will watch closely to see how BARC under Banerjee balances continuity of Sinha’s reforms with new initiatives designed to future-proof the nation’s audience measurement infrastructure.
