Raj TV slapped notice for alleged tampering of barometers

Bribing peoplemetered homes is one of the ways to boost viewership which the TV network resorted to, as per the notice issued by BARC

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | March 8, 2016

The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has slapped a showcause notice to the Tamil television and broadcasting firm, Raj Television, for allegedly tampering with the TV measurement data. The notice accuses the South India based broadcast network of having paid money to the 'sample' homes (having barometers installed) for watching their channel to increase the viewership numbers.

While there have been many stories about such manipulations of ratings, this is the first time that an audience measurement company has sent an official showcause notice. Higher viewership from the sample homes having barometers means bloating of overall viewership ratings, which ultimately results in higher monies from the advertisers.

Since ratings are directly responsible for advertising revenue, the channels are completely dependent on the audience measurement numbers. The notice mentions how certain homes "have been approached and have been asked to watch the channel 'Raj TV', against payment of consideration".

M Raghunathan

When contacted, Director of Marketing at Raj Television Network M Raghunathan said, "I haven't seen any such notice by BARC, even if they have sent it."

Responding to the allegations, he said, "We deny any such allegations. These are false statements. We will try to meet them and clarify, once we see the notice."

Partho Dasgupta, CEO of BARC, when contacted, declined to comment on the issue.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com