Category: Viewership

TRP scam: ED order makes no mention of Republic TV

NEW DELHI: The provisional attachment order of the enforcement directorate (ED) in the long drawn TRP scam investigation includes no evidence against Republic TV's alleged involvement in rigging of Broadcast Audience Research Council's (BARC's) viewership ratings. The 60-page order under s. 5 of the Provisions of Money Laundering Act, 2002 carried the details of the months-long probe conducted by the central agency.

In its provisional order, the ED has divulged details of various past and present relationship managers at Hansa Research Group who were allegedly involved in the manipulation. The order also identifies a financial trail between November 2019 to September 2020 with regard to manipulation of television rating points by three TV channels – Fakt Marathi, Box Cinema and Maha Movie.

However, there are no details of any alleged involvement of Republic TV, which has been made a suspect in the case by the Mumbai police ever since the scam broke out in October last year. In a rejoinder affidavit filed in the high court in February, ARG Outlier Media had submitted that the law keepers in Mumbai had "falsely implicated" it and the entire case against its channels and employees arose out of an “unparalleled political vendetta” and a “deeply malicious witch hunt.”

Senior officials of Republic TV told indiantelevision.com that the ED order reflects what it has stated all along: that it was innocent; that it had no role to play in tampering of any TRPs.

"There were vested interest groups in the industry and in the political firmament and the Mumbai police who twisted facts and bundled the Republic name with the perpetrators of the crime to gain undue advantage," says a senior executive. "And they used all their clout to try and bring us to our knees. But, truth has prevailed and will prevail."

Earlier this week, the Bombay high court too had asked the Mumbai police if it intends to proceed with the investigation against Republic TV and its editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, considering that the channel remains a ‘suspect’ on police records, even after filing of two charge-sheets in connection with the case. In response, the Mumbai police maintained that they have adequate evidence in the case and are still collecting additional evidence. The police also submitted that they had the right to investigate a case for as long as required in the absence of any statutory regulation.

The scam had come to light in October last year when BARC lodged a complaint with the Mumbai police through Hansa Research Group, alleging that certain television channels were rigging TRP numbers by bribing households where BARC bar-o-meters were installed to tune into a particular channel throughout the day.

Last Thursday, the ED provisionally attached assets worth Rs 32 crore belonging to the three TV channels. “Fakt Marathi, Box Cinema, and Maha Movie entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat, and committed the offence of criminal breach of trust, forgery in order to gain wrongfully by manipulating TRPs of these television channels," the ED stated. “It is absolutely clear that the entire revenue generated by these three channels from May 2019 to May 2020 was generated by increasing TRPs.”

As many as 15 arrests have been made in the case, the most prominent being former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta, who recently got bail after furnishing a bond of Rs 2 lakh. The arrested people were charged with cheating, criminal conspiracy, and destruction of evidence.

March 23, 2021
BARC week 10: Star Plus, Sony Sab & Zee TV reign pay platform

MUMBAI: Sony Sab has continued to maintain its hold on the second position in urban market and pay platform(Saturday 6 March 2021 to Friday 12 March 2021) of Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data. Colors Rishtey has replaced &TV for the tenth spot on pay platform.

Pay Platform

In week ten of BARCIndia ratings, the top ten channels on pay platform were Star Plus, Sony Sab, Zee TV,Colors, Sony Entertainment Television, Star Utsav, Sony Pal, Star Bharat, Dangal, and Colors Rishtey.

Urban Market

In the urban market, the top ten channels were Star Plus,Sony Sab, Colors,Star Utsav, Zee TV, Sony Entertainment Television, Sony Pal, Dangal, Colors Ristey, and Zee Anmol in week ten of BARCIndia ratings.

Rural Market

Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, Sony Pal, Dangal, Colors Rishtey, Star Plus, Zee TV,Sony Sab, Big Magic and Colors were the top ten channels in the rural market in week ten of BARCIndia ratings.

Free Platform

On the free platform, Star Utsav, Zee Anmol,Sony Pal,Colors Rishtey,Dangal, Big Magic, Shemaroo TV, DD National,DD Retro and DD Madhya Pradesh were the top ten channels in week ten of BARCIndia ratings.

March 20, 2021
BARC week 10: Reckitt Benckiser overtakes HUL as biggest advertiser

NEW DELHI: The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) of India has released its data for top advertisers and brands for the period between 6 March and 12 March 2021.

The data reflects the top 10 advertisers and brands across genres on India’s television, 2+ Individuals, NCCS. All demonstrating ads that were inserted the most in week 10 of 2021.

Top Advertisers:

After many months, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) ceded the top spot to Reckitt Benckiser, which was the biggest advertiser in week 10 with 233634 ad AMA. HUL finished a distant second with 207714 insertions.

Cadburys bagged the third rank this time with 42919 ad generations. ITC came in fourth with 40556 ad insertions.

Brooke Bond and Godrej Consumer Products secured fifth and sixth place with 35751 and 34356 ad views.

Other top brands in the pecking order were as follows: P&G, Lakme, Colgate and Ponds India.

Top Brands:

This week Lizol led the chart with 25961 ad impressions. Dettol Toilet Soaps came in second with 21759 ad views. Moov Gel secured the third position with 19029 ad insertions.

The fourth and fifth spots were acquired by Dettol antiseptic liquid and Harpic Power Plus with 18177 and 15836 ad AMA respectively.

PolicyBazaar bagged the sixth spot with 15058 ad views.

Other top brands in the pecking order were as follows: Lalithaa Jewellery, Dettol Liquid Soap, Harpic Bathroom Cleaner, and Harpic Power Plus 10X MAX CLEAN.

March 20, 2021
TRP scam: Have right to investigate a case for as long as needed, state tells HC

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court, hearing the petition by ARG Outlier and Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami seeking quashing of the FIR and chargesheet in the TRP manipulation case, was informed by chief public prosecutor Deepak Thakare on Thursday that as there were no statutory restrictions, investigation would go on as long as needed.

After the state’s assurance to the court that the interim relief against coercive action to Goswami and other employees of ARG Outlier would continue for two weeks, the court posted the hearing for Monday, as reported by the Hindustan Times.

Responding to the Bombay high court’s query on why Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami and ARG Outlier Media were not named as accused in the TRP manipulation case, the state said it was not in a position to answer the question immediately, but it had the right to investigate a case for as long as required.

The division bench of justice SS Shinde and justice Manish Pitale on Wednesday had asked the Mumbai police why Goswami had not been named as an accused in the FIR in the case, and had directed the prosecutor to inform it by the following day if they plan to do so.

The court, while accepting the state’s submission, said that rather than keeping the petitioners on tenterhooks, the police could call on them as per clause 12 of the charge sheet which mentions chalak and malak (operator and owner) by issuing them notice. Citing the example of another case (Dabholkar and Pansare), the bench said that it was not asking the state to give a time limit for completion of the investigations. However, it wanted to know from the special public prosecutor how much more time they would take to complete the probe.

Senior counsel Ashok Mundargi for the petitioners drew the attention of the bench to the fact that the alleged crime that the channel was involved in was influencing cable operators to place the channel at the top of the bouquet which they offered to subscribers. The action, Mundargi said, even if constituted an offence, could be dealt with by TRAI. He added that the company and Goswami were willing to cooperate with the investigation provided they were told what their alleged offences were.

Mundargi claimed that the police was being evasive by keeping the investigations open ended, and hence their apprehension of being arrested was not out of place. He also referred to the two chargesheets filed till now in the case and said the claims that the TRP ratings throughout the country were manipulated by rigging a few barometers in Mumbai was not possible.

After hearing the submissions the bench observed, “In a democratic set up, there has to be reasonability and objectiveness. Hence what we want to know when will you complete the investigation…There is a concept of welfare state. The state and the investigating officer should stop at one stage. It cannot continue for years together.”

The fake TRP scam came to light in October when ratings agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) filed a complaint through Hansa Research Group, alleging that certain television channels were rigging TRP numbers. Hansa is one of BARC’s vendors on engagement with panel homes or people’s meters. TRP, measured by recording viewership data at sample households, is crucial for attracting advertisers. According to the police, certain channels including Republic TV were gaming television ratings and were involved in distorting the system used by BARC to rate TV channels. Republic TV has denied wrongdoing.

March 19, 2021
Ad volumes for Jan-Feb 2021 highest since 2017: BARC India

MUMBAI: In a piece of good news for the industry battered by the pandemic, the latest data from television monitoring agency Broadcasting Audience Research Council (BARC) shows the combined TV ad volume for the months of January and February in 2021 was the highest since 2017.

The advertising sector is on a path to revival and the gains made during the second half of 2020 have seeped into the first two months of 2021. According to the data, the ad volumes have increased by 21 per cent over last year. “Continuing the momentum built in the second half of 2020, TV ad volumes have had the most promising start with January and February ad volume levels of 2021 being the highest ever in five years. A lot of sectors/categories, and key non-FMCG brands, also seem to have increased their presence on TV during this period which augurs well for the medium,” said BARC India client partnership and revenue function head Aaditya Pathak.

In terms of genres, movies and music + youth registered higher growth than the average growth in the overall ad volumes which was 25 per cent and 24 per cent respectively. This was followed by GEC and news with 21 per cent and 18 per cent growth respectively during Jan-Feb 2021 over the same period in 2020.

The top ten advertisers drove the ad volumes on TV, contributing 45 per cent to the total share and recorded 35 per cent growth over last year. The next 40 advertisers rode alongside with 25 per cent growth during Jan-Feb this year.

2020 also witnessed new entrants in TV advertising and the rise of advertisers in the digital segment, especially those from the e-commerce segment. The phenomenon holds true for the current period in consideration as well. E-commerce grew by 21 per cent in Jan-Feb 2021, showing a consistent growth year-on-year in TV advertising. Other categories like retail and building, industry, and land materials also saw an increase in spends this year, compared to 2020.

Brands including Lizol, Dettol, and Harpic emerged as the most advertised brands during the period. Several non-FMCG Brands also increased their presence on TV during this period.

With a promising start to the year, the expectations for higher ad spends have definitely gone up for the coming months. The upcoming national and international sports events are also expected to bolster the trend as advertisers continue to keep TV as their preferred choice of platform to reach out to the millions of homes across India.

March 19, 2021
TRP scam: ED attaches assets worth Rs 32 crore of 3 TV channels under scanner

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 32 crore belonging to three TV channels ahead of filing its chargesheet in the TRP manipulation case.

The properties, attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), are owned by Fakt Marathi, Box Cinema and Maha Movie and are in the form of land, commercial and residential units in Mumbai, Indore, Delhi and Gurugram, as well as in bank balance, the central agency said in a statement.

“Fakt Marathi, Box Cinema, and Maha Movie entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat, and committed the offence of criminal breach of trust, forgery in order to gain wrongfully by manipulating TRPs of these television channels," the ED stated.

By “fraudulently enhancing” their TRP numbers, these channels succeeded in securing “enhanced advertisement revenue”, the agency claimed.

During its investigation into the alleged TRP scam, based on an FIR lodged by the Mumbai police, the ED said the aforementioned channels generated total proceeds amounting to Rs 46 crore from the “crime”.

Further, it was discovered that in return for kickbacks, Hansa Research Group's relationship managers had divulged confidential information to "unscrupulous elements" about households where TRP-measuring BARC bar-o-meters were installed.

The agency claimed that "in two of these channels, just five compromised households were contributing to approximately 25 per cent of the viewership of Mumbai for the relevant period and for the third channel, five compromised households were contributing to about 12 per cent of viewership of Mumbai."

The Mumbai police claimed to have unearthed a purported TRP manipulation racket in the city last year in October. At a press conference to brief the media about the alleged scam, it named three channels – Republic TV, Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema – for their involvement in the matter. The controversy sent shockwaves through the broadcast industry. Over the ensuing months, the case took many twists and turns: there have been number of high profile arrests, including former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta; BARC has withheld weekly data for TV news channels and is conducting an internal probe; a committee under Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi S Vempati made recommendations to the MIB on the TV ratings ecosystem.

March 18, 2021
Bombay HC asks if Mumbai police intends to further probe Republic TV

New Delhi: The Bombay high court has sought to know from the Mumbai police if it intends to proceed with the investigation against Republic TV and its editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, considering that the channel remains a ‘suspect’ on police records, even after filing two chargesheets in connection with the TRP manipulation case.

A bench of justices S S Shinde and Manish Pitale also directed special public prosecutor (SPP) Shishir Hiray to inform the court about the time required to complete their investigation in the matter.

"You have been investigating for the last three months. There are two chargesheets, and there seems to be no evidence against them. And this FIR is of October 2020. We are in March 2021," the HC said as per a PTI report. "Why keep the sword hanging on their head? You are not making them an accused also, why so?" asked the bench.

The court raised this query after noting that the police had claimed to have adequate evidence against Goswami and the channel in the alleged TRP scam, yet they have been named only as 'suspects' in the chargesheets.

The bench was responding to submissions made by Ashok Mundargi, the counsel for Goswami and ARG Outlier Media, the company that runs Republic TV channels. "They (police) cannot keep investigating forever. If they have some material against us, they have to show us, they cannot keep playing hot and cold," Mundargi said.

The Mumbai police, however, continued to maintain that they have adequate evidence in the case and that they are still collecting additional evidence. The court said the contention of the petitioners, Goswami and ARG Outlier Media, was that they were always under the fear that some action might be taken against them. The case was adjourned for Thursday.

ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd and Goswami had approached the high court last year alleging that the entire case was malafide and that they have been targeted for Republic TV's reportage in the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, and the Palghar lynching case. Early this year, the Mumbai police had filed two affidavits in the case, saying it had not targeted Republic TV or its employees. The police had said its probe was not a result of any political vendetta and that there was evidence to show that Goswami had allegedly connived with senior officials of BARC to rig the TRP of Republic TV.

The scam had come to light in October last year when BARC lodged a complaint with the Mumbai police through Hansa Research Group, alleging that certain television channels were rigging TRP numbers. Since then, 15 arrests have been made in the case, the most prominent being former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta, who recently got bail.

On the sidelines of this controversy, the government had formed a committee under the chairmanship of Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi S Vempati to study any issues related to the television ratings and make recommendations on the way forward for a robust, transparent and accountable rating system in the country. The report was submitted to the ministry of information and broadcasting in January this year.

On Tuesday, Union minister Prakash Javadekar informed the Rajya Sabha that no specific action has been taken as of yet on the recommendations made in the report submitted the committee. But, appropriate interventions could be considered based on the inputs provided by the committee and recommendations of TRAI.

March 18, 2021
Bombay HC questions Mumbai police over TRP scam press conference

MUMBAI: After months of media furore, high profile arrests, mudslinging and courtroom drama, we have come back full circle in the TRP manipulation case. Today, the Bombay high court raised a pertinent question – what prompted the Mumbai police to hold a press conference last year over the alleged TV ratings scam.

The court was hearing a petition filed by ARG Outlier Media (holding company for Republic TV channels) challenging the criminal proceedings initiated against its channel and employees in the controversial matter. ARG Outlier is seeking, among other reliefs, that the Mumbai police's probe into the TRP scam be transferred to the CBI or any other independent agency.

"Does the police have an obligation to interact with the press? Why did the commissioner (of police) have to speak to the press?" a bench of justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale asked.

The bench was responding to the arguments made by the ARG Outlier Media's counsel, senior advocate Ashok Mundargi.

Mundargi told the high court that the police had malafide intentions behind holding the press conference in October last year.

He also said there was no evidence against Republic TV and its editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, but the police were trying to name them as accused "by hook or by crook".

"The police were feeding the press that a particular scam took place. This points out that there was not sufficient material to say whatever was being said," Mundargi argued.

He also said the police had arrested some employees of ARG Outlier Media and named them as accused persons in their remand applications.

However, in the charge sheet, the police had named the channel and ARG Outlier Media's employees merely as suspects, he pointed out.

Mundargi also highlighted that Sachin Waze, who had been handling the probe into the TRP manipulation case, and is now suspended over his alleged involvement in another case, was a controversial officer.

The high court will continue hearing the final arguments in the case on Wednesday. The Maharashtra government's statement made earlier this month to refrain from taking any coercive action against Goswami and the ARG Outlier Media's employees will remain in force till then.

The ARG Outlier Media and Goswami approached the Bombay high court last year filing a bunch of petitions seeking several reliefs in the TRP scam.

They alleged that the whole case was malafide and they had been targeted for Republic TV's reportage in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the Palghar lynching case last year.

The Mumbai police in January this year filed two affidavits in the TRP case through commissioner Param Bir Singh and ACP Shashank Sandbhor of the crime branch, saying they had not targeted Republic TV or its employees.

The police said their probe into the case was not a result of any political vendetta and there was evidence to show that Goswami had connived with senior officials of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to rig the TRP of Republic TV.

Meanwhile, in the Lok Sabha today, minister of state for home G Kishan Reddy stated that the government has no information on the purported WhatsApp chats between Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta related to confidential and sensitive information, which surfaced during the investigation into the TRP scam by the Mumbai police. The response was in regards to at least six members of Parliament seeking details on the leak.

Since the chats containing details of the Balakot airstrike came to light, opposition leaders have taken aim at the NDA-led government saying that the leak of sensitive information was a breach of the country’s security. The Congress has sought a joint parliamentary committee probe into what it called a breach of national security.

March 16, 2021
BARC week 9: Colors slips down to third spot on pay platform

MUMBAI: In comparison to week eight, Colors has slipped down to fourth position on pay platform(Saturday, 27 February 2021 to Friday, 5 March 2021) of Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data. Sony Sab has bagged second spot on both pay platform and urban market.

Pay Platform

In week nine of BARCIndia ratings, the top ten channels on pay platform were Star Plus, Sony Sab, Zee TV,Colors, Sony Entertainment Television, Star Utsav, Sony Pal, Star Bharat, Dangal, and &TV.

Urban Market

In the urban market, the top ten channels were Star Plus,Sony Sab, Colors,Star Utsav, Zee TV, Sony Entertainment Television, Sony Pal, Dangal,Zee Anmol and ColorsRistey in week nine of BARCIndia ratings.

Rural Market

Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, Sony Pal, Dangal, ColorsRishtey, Star Plus, Zee TV,Sony Sab,Colors, and Big Magic were the top ten channels in the rural market in week nine of BARCIndia ratings.

Free Platform

On the free platform, Star Utsav, Zee Anmol,Sony Pal,Dangal, ColorsRishtey, Big Magic, Shemaroo TV, DD National,DD Retro and DD Madhya Pradesh were the top ten channels in week nine of BARCIndia ratings.

March 14, 2021
BARC week 9: Lizol retains top spot on brands list

NEW DELHI: The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) of India has released its data for top advertisers and brands for the period between 13 February and March 2021.

The data reflects the top 10 advertisers and brands across genres on India’s television, 2+ Individuals, NCCS. All demonstrating ads that were inserted the most in week nine of 2021.

Top Advertisers:

Hindustan Unilever continued to be the biggest advertiser this week also with 222923 insertions.

It was followed by Reckitt Benckiser India, which ranked second with 189285 ad generations.

Cadburys bagged the third rank this time with 36970 ad AMA. Brooke Bond came in fourth with 35047 ad insertions.

P&G and ITC secured fifth and sixth place with 34943 and 30592 ad views.

Other top brands in the pecking order were as follows: Colgate, Lakme, Ponds India, and Godrej Consumer Products.

Top Brands:

This week Lizol led the chart with 20165 ad impressions. PolicyBazaar came in second with 18339 ad views. Dettol Toilet Soaps secured the third position with 18299 ad insertions.

The fourth and fifth spots were acquired by Moov Gel and Dettol antiseptic liquid with 16810 and 13895 ad AMA respectively.

Lalithaa Jewellery bagged the sixth spot with 13222 ad views.

Other top brands in the pecking order were as follows: Harpic Power Plus, Clinic Plus Shampoo, Dettol Liquid Soap and Harpic Bathroom Cleaner.

March 13, 2021