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New TV ratings policy brings connected TV into measurement
India's new Television Ratings Policy 2026, notified on March 27, requires ratings agencies to use technology-neutral measurement across cable TV, direct-to-home, terrestrial TV, OTT and connected TVs. The policy replaces the 2014…
India's new Television Ratings Policy 2026, notified on March 27, requires ratings agencies to use technology-neutral measurement across cable TV, direct-to-home, terrestrial TV, OTT and connected TVs. The policy replaces the 2014 framework and lowers the minimum net worth requirement for a ratings agency from Rs 20 crore to Rs 5 crore.
The policy mandates agencies to deploy at least 80,000 metered homes within 18 months of registration, rising by 10,000 a year until 1,20,000. Existing agencies had nine months from a May 8 amendment to reach that target. The government said in a July 24 Rajya Sabha reply that no entity had registered under the new policy as of that date.
The framework allows television distribution platforms and OTT platforms to publish their own viewership data without registering as a ratings agency, creating a distinction between a common currency and platform-specific metrics. The policy does not prescribe a single method for deduplicating viewers across different sources.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The 2026 policy opens India's television ratings market beyond BARC, which has been the sole commercial provider since 2015 under the previous framework. The technology-neutral requirement addresses a structural gap: as viewing shifts to smart TVs and OTT, the old set-top-box panel could not capture that audience. The absence of a mandated deduplication method means each agency's methodology will determine whether the new data produces a reliable single currency or fragmented numbers that broadcasters and advertisers cannot compare. The deadline to watch is the 18-month window from registration, after which the first new entrant must show it can meter 80,000 homes and resolve the overlap problem.
Source: medianama.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
