MUMBAI: Recently, television ratings body Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) was slandered with a number of statements which it termed as ‘malicious, baseless and grossly inaccurate’. It said that some stakeholders had publicly commented on its operations and organisation structure.
Addressing the issue, the company issued a statement that BARC was a joint body set up by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and Advertising Agencies Association India (AAAI), adhering to section eight of the Companies Act. It is a debt funded company, and there is absolutely no foreign direct investment.
Being an industry body promoted by IBF, ISA and AAAI, BARC India is neither owned by any broadcaster/advertiser/agency, nor controlled by any single company. “Therefore, the question of undue influence of any single entity on BARC India’s operations simply does not arise. It has a strict governance structure as laid down in its Articles of Association, which ensures its ‘arm’s length’ relationship with all stakeholders,” the body said in a statement.
IBF President Punit Goenka said, “We take pride in saying that BARC India works in an extremely transparent and neutral environment. Its data adds immense value to industry, and we would encourage and support it to remain focused on the great work its team does, and not get detracted by false statements and unattributed innuendos. BARC India has established a measurement system at par with international standards, which should be a matter of pride for the industry.”
With a sample size of 135,000 individuals across the nation, BARC India operates the largest TV sample/panel in the world – much larger than the US TV sample of 90,000.
ISA chairman Sunil Kataria said, “BARC India data helps advertisers reach and understand consumers even in the most remote and unexplored areas. It enables the Rs. 25000 crore advertising industry to take informed decisions since the data is truly representative of ground reality.”
AAAI president and BARC India chairman Nakul Chopra said, “It should be applauded as in these positive and progressive times it provides essential and reliable data that is powering many industries make better decisions towards economic growth.”
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