Who set up BARC India?
Three industry groups set it up. They are the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (broadcasters), the Indian Society of Advertisers (advertisers) and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (agencies). The idea was to have one rating system that buyers and sellers of airtime both trust.
The telecom regulator TRAI supported an industry-led, self-regulated body for TV ratings. This was in its recommendations of 13 September 2013. BARC India released its first ratings in April 2015.
How does BARC measure viewing?
BARC places meters in a sample of homes across India. The meters record what each member of the household watches. BARC then projects that viewing to all TV homes. It publishes weekly data by channel, programme, region and audience group.
Why BARC matters to a business
- It tells you which channels your buyers actually watch, by age, gender, region and town size.
- It lets you compare channels on cost per rating point, not just on the price of a spot.
- After a campaign, it shows how many of your target audience saw the ad. It also shows how often.
BARC measures TV. For connected TV and online video, platforms report their own numbers. So plan and measure those separately.
Related terms
- TRP: television rating point, the share of an audience watching.
- Gross rating points (GRP): the total ratings of a campaign.
- Cost per rating point (CPRP): what it costs to reach 1% of the audience.
For airtime prices, read TV advertising cost in India. To plan a TV campaign with us, see media planning.
