Archive · 7 Dec 2025
Media Measurement Scandals and Challenges
There's a big problem with how we measure who's watching TV and online videos.
A news channel in India accused a group that measures TV ratings of cheating to help a rival channel.
This isn't the first time this has happened.
The group that measures TV ratings is supposed to be fair, but people think they're not doing a good job.
Advertisers spend a lot of money based on these ratings, so it's a big deal.
Even on the internet, it's hard to know if ads are working because people don't remember them well.
The group that measures TV ratings wants to add more measuring devices to homes, but it's expensive and might not solve all the problems.
It's a messy situation, and no one is sure how to fix it.
Malayalam news channel Twentyfour News accused Barc of colluding with a rival channel to manipulate ratings and YouTube viewership.
Barc has ordered a forensic audit following the allegations, similar to a 2020 scandal involving the manipulation of ratings for the Republic network.
Advertising money worth thousands of crores is influenced by Barc's ratings, highlighting the gravity of the allegations.
Digital video platforms like YouTube and Instagram have poor brand recall, with users struggling to remember more than 1.5 brands from the ads they see.
Proposed solutions include increasing the sample size of TV meters to 120,000 households, but the high cost and lack of incentives pose challenges.
- Who
- Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) and Malayalam news channel Twentyfour News
- What
- Accusations of collusion and manipulation of TV ratings and YouTube viewership
- When
- Recent scandal, with a previous incident in 2020
- Where
- India
- Why
- To influence advertising money based on viewership and reach
- Organization Involved
- Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc)
- Accusation
- Collusion to manipulate ratings and YouTube viewership
- Action Taken
- Forensic audit ordered
- Previous Incident
- 2020 arrest of CEO Partho Dasgupta for alleged rating manipulation
- Advertising Impact
- Thousands of crores of advertising money influenced by ratings
- Digital Video Brand Recall
- Poor, with average recall of 1.5 brands
- Proposed Solution
- Increase sample size of TV meters to 120,000
- Current Sample Size
- 55,000 households