I&B Ministry Recommends Provisional Registration For BARC India, Paving Way For Possible TRP Resumption

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has recommended granting provisional registration to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, which could allow the television audience measurement body to resume audience measurement and publish TRP data.

The proposed provisional approval is subject to BARC fulfilling the requirements set out in the TV Ratings Policy 2026.The provisional registration may be reviewed in January 2027, according to the ministry note.

BARC had filed its application for registration on April 29, 2026 under the updated ratings system for television channels.The ministry had earlier directed BARC to withhold television audience measurement and publication of TRPs while it reviewed the registration application

The prospect of ratings resuming follows worries by broadcasters, advertisers and media agencies on the array of consequences that have resulted from the ratings suspension on television planning and revenue decisions.

Broadcasters argued that prolonged absence of television ratings could accelerate the movement of advertising budgets from television to other media platforms. BARC is working to expand its measurement panel to 80,000 houses.

BARC India has made progress towards meeting the expanded panel requirements under the TV Ratings Policy 2026. As per its communication to the ministry, Data from connected TV homes is expected to be included in BARC ratings from December 2026.

The government’s new framework suggests that the number of items measured should be raised to ensure that TV ratings are more representative across regions, languages and viewing platforms. The policy seeks to progressively build up the panel to reach 1.2 lakh homes, adding 10,000 households annually.

BARC has started the process of appointing a fifth independent director to the board as part of the governance changes in the light of the new ratings policy.

The purpose of the move is to make sure independent directors make up at least one-third of the board’s make up. BARC has also requested to make an amendment to its Articles of Association to increase the number of directors and is awaiting the approval of the Registrar of Companies.

The government has been focusing on enhancing governance and minimising conflicts of interest as important issues within its new television ratings system.

BARC has informed the ministry that it has successfully tested the algorithm designed to exclude landing page viewership from ratings.

The organisation has also introduced a secure website for big media outlets to publish declarations of landing pages. It will be useful to narrow down and filter out default channel views when a television or set-top box is switched on without the channel being selected by the viewer.

The TV Ratings Policy 2026 calls for such impressions to be excluded from the official measurement so that the ratings reflect actual viewing, and not automatic exposure.

BARC also has plans to add connected TV (CTV) households to its measurement panel. BARC ratings will include data from connected TV homes starting December 2026.

The move fills a significant void in the Indian television measurement landscape, where smart TVs and internet-connected devices have become an integral part of consumers’ viewing habits.

BARC has partnered with Comscore for a proof-of-concept project for cross-media measurement covering television, OTT, and digital platforms. It is hoped to be rolled out in around 6-8 months.

Different news ratings will be suspended in addition to earlier restrictions on news channels.In addition to the previous news channel restrictions, ratings for news will be suspended separately.

The July 2026 direction to withhold television ratings was separate from the ministry’s earlier March 2026 suspension of news-channel ratings over concerns related to speculative and sensational coverage during the Israel-Iran conflict.

The proposed provisional registration would help them restore the measurement of television audiences but gives BARC more time to meet the rest of the requirements of compliance that include panel expansion, governance changes and technology upgrades.

The provisional registration, if approved, might be a major milestone in the revival of the television ratings system in India, as outlined in the new TV Ratings Policy 2026.