After finding itself in a controversy over fake TRPs, Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India released a statement on Saturday, 17 October addressing the issue.
Emphasising that the body “owns and manages a transparent, accurate and inclusive TV audience measurement system”, BARC India stated:
“BARC is providing the necessary assistance to the ongoing investigation by law enforcement agency and this should be seen in the light of larger stability of the panel and in the interests of self-regulation, rather than in isolated cases of particular channels which leads to a distortion of facts.”
Over the last few days, the Mumbai Police has made multiple arrests over allegations of TRP rigging. Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV is also being investigated in connection with the case. Police sources told The Quint that the accused arrested in the matter and individuals who were allegedly paid off claimed that they were paid by Republic TV to watch the channel.
BARC further stated, “Our efforts on combating infiltration are focused on the individual(s) responsible for these activities and we firmly believe that television channels are committed to maintaining a clean and transparent ecosystem.”
“BARCs management team works with full confidence and support of Board and the various Committees. BARC continues to be driven by only one goal: to generate ratings that its subscribers rely on which are deeply rooted in science, report with the greatest sense of responsibility and truly reflect ‘What India Watches’,” it added.
In light of the scam, BARC Board recently suspended publishing the weekly individual ratings for news channels.
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