Govt seeks Trai opinion on TV audience research body

Government has sought the opinion of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on the "framework and functioning" of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), the audience research measurement body formed by broadcasters in 2007.
 
In what could be a way forward for BARC, which is yet to take off even three years after its formation, a senior official said today that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has recently written to Trai, seeking its opinion on how BARC's ambit can be widened.
 
He said, "We have recently written to Trai on the framework and the functioning of BARC and on the issue of how its role can be enhanced."
 
The process for the formation of an alternative TV audience research measurement agency was initiated by the I&B Ministry in 2007 at the behest of various stakeholders including the broadcasters and advertisers.
 
In order to break the monopoly of private audience measurement agencies like TAM and MAP, Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) had come together to form BARC three years back.
 
Subsequently, Trai had submitted its recommendations in 2008 based on a consultative process involving all stakeholders. The broadcasters and advertisers were, however, opposed to any government intervention in BARC, as was the recommendation by Trai.