Here’s why BARC India will start reporting viewership from free and pay platforms separately

The Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC), the country's TV viewership monitoring agency, on July 8 announced that it would start reporting viewership from free and pay platforms separately starting week 27 (June 29 – July 5).

A free connection is one where the household incurs only a small one-time fee for installing the set top box. The major player in this area is DD Free Dish. The household does not pay any monthly subscription fee. A paid connection is one where the subscriber invests an initial amount for installation and an ongoing monthly subscription fee.

In the Hindi Speaking Markets (HSM), two out of 10 homes are Free Homes, accounting for almost 140 million television viewing individuals.

The Pay & Free viewer differs significantly not only in terms of demographics, but also their characteristics, values, lifestyle and psychographics (psychological attributes).

A study done in these homes by BARC India analysed the personas of these two audience types.

Reporting viewership from Pay and Free platform separately would enable focused targeting.

Advertisers will be able to plan more effectively by placing insertions on the channels available on these platforms in the respective regions.

Broadcasters can also make more informed decisions pertaining to content and distribution.

The new Pay & Free platform variable will be offered over and above the current urban and rural viewership data provided by BARC.

“There has been a strong demand from the market for separate reporting of viewership from homes with pay and free connections. We have taken the market feedback in consideration with the changes that have come about in the ecosystem post the implementation of the tariff order,” said Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India.