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Despite early discussions a couple of years ago, key initiatives to strengthen TV measurement — such as expanding household (HH) panel coverage, introducing multiscreen measurement, and conducting a Connected TV survey — have failed to take off. Insiders attribute the stagnation to a lack of sustained interest among a section of broadcasters.
exchange4media had earlier reported that the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has also not conducted a baseline survey since 2018, further clouding the accuracy of TV viewership data — even as media consumption habits have evolved dramatically in the post-pandemic era.
“In 2023, BARC announced plans to increase its panel homes from 55,000 to 75,000 by 2025, after previously expanding from 30,000 in 2022. However, the additional recruitment drive is yet to take off. There were plans for multi-screen measurement as well using return path data to indicate the right data. Nothing worked out so far,” industry executives told e4m.
Similarly, plans to capture multiscreen and CTV viewing—which had been actively discussed by BARC’s technical committees—remain on paper. Despite growing connected TV penetration, no formal measurement system is in place yet.
Industry observers believe that differences within the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), an influential industry body, may have contributed to the slow progress on certain initiatives aimed at strengthening the TV viewership measurement system.
Neither BARC CEO Nakul Chopra nor IBDF chairman Kevin Vaz responded to e4m’s repeated calls and messages seeking comment. The copy will be updated as and when they respond.
This deadlock comes at a time when television’s dominance in the Indian ad landscape is gradually declining. According to the FICCI- EY media and entertainment report 2025 released early this year, digital media overtook television for the first time to become the largest segment in the Indian media and entertainment industry in 2024, contributing 32% of the sector’s revenues.
The report also claimed that linear television revenues fell for the second year in a row despite viewership remaining largely unchanged. Subscription revenues fell 3% due to a reduction in six million Pay TV homes as both free TV and connected TV homes grew. Connected TVs, which are TV sets that can stream internet content, grew to around 30 million in 2024 from 23 million in the year before.
TV's share in India’s AdEx also dropped from 34% in 2022 to just under 30% (?34,500 crore) in 2024. In contrast, digital advertising now accounts for over 50% of the market, commanding ?49,250 crore in ad spends, according to the Pitch Madison Advertising Report 2025.
This shift is also reflected in the number of active advertisers. According to PMAR, TV attracted 11,127 advertisers in 2023, a number that dipped to 8,653 in 2024—marking a 23% drop.
“With rising digital penetration and multiple NTOs implemented, it needs government intervention to ensure that BARC India carries out the necessary panel expansion to truly represent the country’s current viewing landscape,” an industry executive remarked.
Brands operating in the Dark?
Brand custodians and media planners say the lack of robust, updated measurement is affecting campaign decisions and return on investment (ROI) calculations.
“The large-screen ecosystem has changed dramatically in the last five years. We’re seeing a rise in CTV and hybrid households—mixing linear TV with connected platforms—but our plans are still built on legacy estimates,” said a senior media planner at a leading FMCG brand.
Advertisers are increasingly questioning the validity of sample sizes, outdated viewership trends, and decade-old estimates used to justify hundreds of crores in TV media buys.
“We need currency-grade data that captures the full spectrum of viewer behaviour—whether they’re watching on cable, DTH, smart TVs, or mobile. That isn’t happening right now,” said a media head from a top multinational. He adds, “Currently, we are operating in the dark.”
Stalled Reforms
The robustness of viewership data depends significantly on the panel size as well as its geographic and demographic representation. BARC’s panel recruitment follows a two-step process—beginning with the Broadcast India Establishment Survey (last conducted in 2018), followed by the recruitment of households based on insights from that survey.
Industry insiders suggest that proposals to update the baseline survey, expand panel homes, and initiate multiscreen and CTV measurement have seen limited progress in recent years. One executive from a Free-to-Air (FTA) broadcaster pointed to internal differences within the ecosystem as a possible reason for the delay.
“Viewership trends have evolved considerably, with FTA consumption rising not only in rural but also in semiurban and urban areas. An updated baseline or enhanced panel representation could offer a more accurate picture of these shifts, which may not align with the interests of all stakeholders,” the executive said on condition of anonymity.
FTA members point out that an EY-FICCI report predicts a further decline in Pay TV from 111 million in 2024 to 95 million in 2027. This drop will largely be driven by CTV, which will grow from 30 million households to 48 million households by the end of 2027.
“On the other hand, Free TV, which stands at 49 million in 2024, will add 4 million households in the next three years. The fact is FTA subscribers are growing in double digits which suggests viewers' faster migration from pay to free TV is inevitable,” an FTA member said.
Any panel expansion or universe update could have further potential impact on business of key stakeholders. Hence, mostly key stakeholders in the industry have likely delayed the process, said an industry leader.
While FTA channels are part of the IBDF, we have little say in the matters as we do not have representation on the BARC’s board, members claim.
TRAI and Comscore Step In
Amid rising concerns, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has also called for urgent reforms in the television measurement system.
TRAI chairman A.K. Lahoti recently described the ecosystem as “distorted” and advocated for the entry of multiple rating agencies, stronger tech integration, and government intervention to ensure parity between traditional TV and OTT.
Meanwhile, Comscore is preparing to launch a YouTube CTV viewership measurement solution in India in partnership with Google. This comes after its earlier efforts to work with Indian broadcasters failed to take off, as reported by e4m early this year.
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