NEW DELHI: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has demanded that Republic TV’s IBF membership be suspended in light of leaked transcripts of the channel’s MD & editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami’s WhatsApp chats with former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta.
“These messages clearly establish collusion between the two in manipulating ratings to garner greater viewership numbers for Republic TV month after month by fraudulently manually reducing ratings of other channels to give Republic TV an unfair advantage. These WhatsApp messages not only reflect manipulation of ratings but is also about power play,” it said in an official release.
The association has further called on BARC to keep Republic TV out of the ratings system till the court passes final judgment in the alleged TRP manipulation case.
“NBA demands that IBF membership of Republic TV should be suspended with immediate effect till the case related to manipulation of ratings is pending in the court. NBA Board is also of the view that the manipulation of ratings by Republic TV has immensely damaged the reputation of the broadcast industry and therefore it should be kept out of BARC rating system till final court order,” the statement read.
The NBA stated that it has already conveyed to BARC that ratings are “unreliable” and should continue to be suspended beyond the initial three months mandated, in light of the recent revelations which “shows the arbitrary nature of functioning” at the agency. It also claimed that there has been a systemic lack of transparency that has prevailed right since the inception of BARC.
“It shows that there are no checks and balances and the ability of a few within BARC to easily change the ratings as they deemed fit, making the system subjective to the whims and fancy of the management versus being an objective transparent system. The oversight committee with no representation of broadcasters and just consultants paid by BARC is an eye wash to show autonomy,” the NBA charged, before urging BARC to take action against players who are responsible for damaging the credibility of the news broadcast business.
NBA’s board demands that BARC:
· Make a clear statement about the veracity of its ratings in the period during the audit and also conducts an audit of the Hindi news genre.
· Expunge the data of the erring broadcaster and restate the real position of rankings of all news channels from the beginning.
· Explain the concrete steps that have been taken by BARC in the last three months to secure the ratings.
· Bring transparency to the process and create a system whereby any changes to the ratings that impacts the news ecosystem is done only after due consultation with a BARC Sub Committee of NBA nominees.
· Explain what penal actions are provided for in the BARC constitution against broadcasters who have indulged in manipulation of ratings of this magnitude and what action will be taken in the current case.
· Ratings of news channels remain suspended till such time all details of such actions taken by BARC are shared with the stakeholders.
· NBA’s board also wants to place on record that the corrupt data released month after month has not only led to reputation loss but has also caused huge financial losses to news broadcasters for which BARC is duty bound to give an explanation.
