Beyond TRPs: Govt's ratings reform may transform OTT audience measurement

Mint

3 days ago

The government's recent proposal to amend the norms for television ratings system in India, currently monopolized by Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc), encouraging big tech and other private entities to set up their own rating agencies could spark competition and help create more credible cross-platform audience measurement systems, experts said.
The current system of measuring television rating points, which indicate the popularity of TV programmes and the time slot when most viewers tune in, is used by brands to place their advertisements for maximum impact. However, TRPs are restricted only to linear TVs, meaning they gauge viewerships only for cable TVs and direct-to-home, with no insight into streaming platforms or connected TVs, making it difficult for brands to make confident ad spend decisions.
The ministry of information and broadcasting's (MIB) draft amendments to the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies in India, released on 2 July, could democratise the rating system, leading to more credible measurement systems for OTT video streaming content, too. The draft amendments are open to public feedback until 1 August.
Read more: Movie theatres are back to being prime drivers of Bollywood revenue as OTT cools
'This move could encourage third-party agencies or tech firms to develop or licence audience measurement tools for OTT. Currently, most OTT platforms rely on internal (and opaque) analytics. A policy push could incentivize competition, innovation, and transparency, leading to more credible and cross-platform metrics," Anupam Shukla, partner, Pioneer Legal said.
Benefits for advertisers
Until now, viewership of web shows and films have only been tracked informally by select media consulting firms and agencies, leading to an opaqueness around what works. Although streaming platforms themselves have such data, very few, with the exception of foreign players such as Netflix, release the same. In the rare cases that they do, there is no standard metric for viewership of OTT programmes, creating an obstacle for advertisers to bet on such content, if it is streamed for free.
That could change, industry experts say, with the availability of granular and verifiable viewership data, offering targeted advertising solutions based on user demographics, behavioural insights, content preferences, and viewing habits.
Currently, Barc is the sole ratings provider on TV and didn't track connected TVs or OTT platforms, Bharati Wukkadada, associate professor in data science and technology at Mumbai's KJ Somaiya Institute of Management pointed out. Further, OTT platforms in India use their own measurement metrics and reporting formats. The absence of uniform standards made it difficult to compare or consolidate viewership data across platforms. Major Indian OTT services preferred to keep viewership data confidential, treating it as a competitive advantage rather than sharing it with industry bodies or advertisers, Wukkadada said.
While data for OTT platforms can be tracked even now, the accuracy of the metrics remains questionable, agreed Natasha Treasurywala, partner at law firm Desai & Diwanji. With the entry of more rating agencies including those owned by the OTT platforms themselves, competition will increase, and the data will become far more reliable and authentic, she said.
Calling the MIB move a shift aimed at making audience viewership measurement more accurate, transparent, and representative, Gaurav Sahay, founder partner, Arthashastra Legal, said that the OTT sector currently operates outside the framework of any government-mandated audience measurement system. It relies instead on proprietary and opaque data analytics managed internally by streaming platforms. 'These data sets are rarely shared with advertisers or regulators in a standardized or verifiable format. This absence of uniform measurement hinders comparability, credibility, and cross-platform audience analysis. Though the proposal primarily focuses on linear television broadcasting, it can result in consequential bearing on OTT content," Sahay said.
Read more: Old Indian films find revival on OTT platforms, thanks to social media, nostalgia cravings
Precision viewership data enables advertisers to move beyond traditional impression-based models to outcome-based metrics such as click-through rates, conversions, and engagement duration, thereby justifying higher ad spends and improving return on investment. Access to credible, third-party audited data could bridge the trust deficit that often exists between OTT platforms and advertisers, leading to increased programmatic ad purchases and cross-platform campaigns that combine television, digital, and mobile viewership, the experts said.
Further, from a regulatory standpoint, granular audience insights also assist in internal compliance with age-appropriate rating norms, language-specific targeting, and accurate content classification.
However, there is a flipside to the government's move.
A senior executive at a streaming platform pointed out that like TV, this could lead to multiple parties, including OTTs themselves, claiming to provide credible data that suits their interests. "Whom would the viewer trust in this case?" the executive asked. Moreover, for significant advertising, streaming content would actually have to prove to clock in significant eyeballs in mass-market areas, which remains a challenge.
Yet, many see the possibility as a positive one for the industry.
'This data also supports fair market practices under competition, which can help platforms meet disclosure requirements under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) guidelines, while ensuring alignment with IT Rules, 2021, and emerging privacy requirements under DPDPA (The Digital Personal Data Protection Act) frameworks," said Gaurav Gupta, founding partner at law firm Bridge Counsels. "Just as Barc ratings help shape buying decisions for television, independently verifiable OTT metrics would enable fair ad placement and unbiased audience segmentation. Ensuring transparent pricing through such metrics is also crucial to prevent potential claims of advertiser deception."
Read more: Will ZEE5's new slate of content, regional push, and micro-drama help it win the OTT war?