Government delay leaves BARC unregistered and pauses India TV ratings
India's TV ratings are on pause right now because the government hasn't renewed BARC's registration.
With audience data frozen since June, broadcasters can't track how their channels are doing: pretty rough for a market where ad money runs into tens of thousands of crores.
The delay is also making people nervous about one group dominating the scene, with less competition.
Most broadcasters stop paying BARC
A big reason for the holdup is BARC's ownership: most of it sits with a broadcaster group (IBDF), which has raised eyebrows about fairness.
Even though BARC tried to step up its game by expanding its measurement panel, officials weren't impressed with its latest updates.
Now, most broadcasters have stopped paying BARC altogether.
Meanwhile, an informal group of ministers is understood to be examining the issue of introducing competition into a market dominated by BARC, a decision that could totally shake up how we measure what people watch.