A step in the right direction: News broadcasters applaud BARC’s shift to weekly ratings

In a significant shift in the way television viewership data will be reported, BARC India has announced it will discontinue the four-week rolling average system for news and special interest genres. Starting June 26, 2025, viewership estimates will be published on a weekly basis, beginning with data for Week 24 (June 14 to 20, 2025). The decision marks a return to a weekly reporting format after more than three years, addressing a longstanding demand from several major news broadcasters.

The announcement has been met with widespread approval from the industry, especially among those who had criticised the rolling average methodology for its inability to reflect the true dynamism and immediacy of the news genre.

News broadcasters weigh in

Avinash Pandey, Senior Advisor at Primus Partners and former CEO of ABP Network, called it a long-overdue move. “I sent a letter to BARC long back informing them that the News Broadcasters Association had unanimously passed a resolution urging the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to roll back the merged data reporting system. This was during Apurva Chandra’s leadership, and he too had supported us then.

“This should have happened much earlier, as the merged data methodology was not just flawed, but also detrimental to the business interests of news networks,” Pandey added. He pointed out that news, unlike general entertainment, is not repetitive or scheduled in a fixed pattern. “One week may feature a Prime Minister’s speech, while the next might focus on an internet-related event. How can such disparate programming be compared on the same metric?” he said.

Pandey believes the return to weekly ratings will benefit both editorial and sales teams. “Newsrooms will now get clarity on what content is resonating with audiences, especially during major events like a Middle East crisis or elections. Sales teams will once again have real-time, actionable data to offer advertisers, for high-impact events like Budget coverage, election counting days or even cricket. This decision will help news channels monetise spikes in viewership more effectively and contribute to a more robust, transparent system overall.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Varun Kohli, Chief Operating Officer – News Broadcasting Business,Times Network, said the decision enables sharper insights and more agile planning for content teams.

“BARC’s move to share unrolled data for news and other genres is a step in the right direction. It allows for sharper content insights and will lead to better planning by the editorial team. However, a key downside is that weekly viewership trends may become more volatile, with sharper fluctuations, and channel rankings will change more frequently,” Kohli noted.

Nikhil Mathur, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at News9 Plus, observed that BARC’s weekly ratings system was in place till 2022 as well, and it had its own challenges. That system left broadcasters with very few options to showcase their leadership position. "But going back to the original one is still a good step,” he said.

He explained that the weekly format (which earlier existed till 2022) allowed for clearer comparisons. “Every event, every point, every engaging parameter could be compared. It’s just that it sometimes became an information overload, but overall, it was encouraging,” said.

Off the record, another senior news broadcast executive welcomed the development and noted the practical impact it could have on how viewership is measured and monetised.

“The shift will bring clear viewership estimates during key events like Operation Sindoor, AI plane crash, Israel War or election counting days. While some channels may lose their consistent leadership, others may climb up the rankings more frequently,” they said.

“The revised metrics will offer a clearer and more accurate view of channel performance, enabling better attribution of viewership to content and allowing editorial teams to take timely actions based on more reliable insights. The reach is expected to go down across the genre,” the executive added.

The Chief Sales Officer of a leading TV channel, speaking on the condition of anonymity, pointed out the wider implications. “It’s healthy competition and there will be more transparency. It’s too early to say anything more now, but once we see data for three months, we’ll know how things are settling. It’s high time the news industry got its due. It’s the most under-monetised genre. The cost of doing business has increased year-on-year, yet monetisation has been under pressure.”

A dash of caution

While much of the industry is celebrating the return to weekly data, others are urging caution, not about the metrics, but how they are used. There is growing awareness that data, if interpreted without context or used to push pre-set narratives, can often paint a distorted picture.

BARC too has cautioned users against directly comparing Average Daily Reach Share (ADRS) or other metrics derived from rolled data with the new unrolled weekly data, due to methodological differences that may affect trending and interpretation.

A section of media professionals believe that performance should not be defined by weekly fluctuations alone, and that real success depends on strategic intent and long-term brand building, not just momentary spikes in viewership. For some, data is a tool and not a verdict, and responsible use of ratings is key to maintaining credibility and business health.

The ratings rollercoaster since March'22

The road to this policy change has been a long one. In March 2022, BARC India resumed publishing news channel ratings after an 18-month hiatus. The decision came after a highly contentious period in which questions were raised about the accuracy, fairness and influence of television rating mechanisms. When ratings resumed, BARC adopted what it called the Augmented Data Reporting Standards for the News and Special Interest genres, which introduced the 4-week rolling average.

While the move was meant to stabilise fluctuations and smoothen the numbers, many within the news broadcasting community believed it masked real-time viewer behaviour and hurt business decisions.

NDTV was among the first to opt out of BARC ratings, followed by Zee Media and iTV Network.

Zee had back then mentioned, "The news genre is continuously shown shrinking since BARC Data was restarted, while on the contrary when the data was stopped, the genre was at its peak. Inspite of multiple meetings and conversation with BARC, the agency not only failed but has not been able to explain such a steep fall."

By 2024, there was growing momentum within the industry for an overhaul of the ratings mechanism, with some advocating for multiple measurement bodies and others calling for significant reforms within BARC itself.

Now, with weekly data returning, the focus will shift to how networks adapt to a more volatile but arguably more reflective measurement system. The initial weeks will be closely watched, not only for their impact on ratings and rankings but also for how they influence advertiser confidence, content strategy and industry sentiment.