No ratings for news channels since October 2020, and no one is really complaining. So let’s get right into the June 16 edition of Das ka Dum for Dr Bhaskar Das’s view on the absence of ratings for News TV. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. In four months, it will be a year since individual channel ratings were not being published. And the news TV has been flourishing regardless? Your view?

A. Beyond ratings, news channels get in the consideration set on the basis of  visibility, perception, trade level recommendation and ROI on the basis of empiricism. Ratings are useful for planning but in the absence of them, pragmatism and general buzz about a channel (both in the social media and in public discourse) play an important role for selection of a media vehicle. Advertisers are rational and so long as news channels are serving their strategic intent, flourishing is only a collateral benefit. News channels would not deviate from serving their viewers and thereby advertisers, and that’s not a function of ratings.