Leading advertising associations have formed a council, Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), to control the TV audience measurement system in India. It is a non-profitable organisation registered under Section 25 with a nominal share capital contributed by the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI). The council will comprise only three leading advertising associations - advertisers, media owners and advertising agencies.

Ensuring Transparency

A majority of the advertisers feel that large-scale media measurement research should be conducted by a common council of advertisers and advertising agencies. This should be implemented in order to maintain adequate transparency among media advertisers. In 1997, the advertisement industry formed a Joint Industry Body (JIB), comprising representatives from ISA and AAAI, after signing an agreement with AC Nielsen and Indian Market Research Bureau. However, the absence of a formal structure in JIB led to the failure of its objectives.

BARC was conceptualised to provide accurate, updated and appropriate research related to television and other audio/video media not restricted to TV ratings, for TV programming and spot ratings.

Technical Committee

BARC's Board of Directors plans to appoint a technical committee to be headed by Vikram Sakhuja. The board also intends BARC to operate through a self-governed secretariat in Mumbai. The secretariat will be headed by professionals with relevant experience in the media, marketing or research fields. Currently, the board is in the process of appointing the CEO. BARC will finalise the kind of funding, specification, process and business model for TV audience measurement research.