MAM
‘Name and shame delinquent channels’
MUMBAI: Media buying and planning (advertising) agencies and brands reacted strongly or cautiously when it came to commenting on famous yet delinquent television channels suspected of wrongdoing by India’s only TV ratings points (TRP) body. Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), the only television audience measurement body in India, temporarily suspended the review of viewership of three news channels. BARC had communicated to all the broadcasters that ratings for India News, TV9 Telegu and V6 News were suspended for four weeks owing to suspected mala fide practices.
This decision may have had a bearing on advertising on the channels in question. Some industry experts were direct and forthcoming in their reactions, others were cautious, while some chose not to comment on the issue.
Requesting anonymity, a senior media planner told Indiantelevision.com that the decision could have a mixed impact on the advertising revenue of the channels. There would be companies who believe in a particular channel since a long time. They may not get swayed by this temporary phenomenon. Companies who might want to launch a national campaign may take a channel’s current ratings into account before making their decision. Then, there are regional advertisers who want to see the effect of advertising on the ground — they may not take the BARC review into account at all. There would be some advertisers who would want to wait and watch for a while — 2-3 weeks before taking any decision.
Dentsu Aegis chairman Ashish Bhasin lauded the BARC decision not to review certain errant channels for a period of time. “It is a bold step taken by BARC to name and shame the mischievous entities.” It sends out a warning message to the channels to behave, and will act as a deterrent for other possible mischief-mongers that could spoil the purity of the currency for a Rs 20000 crore annual TV advertising business in India, Bhasin said.
About the impact on advertising, Bhasin said that the reputation of the errant channels would be affected owing to the suspension of review. “Although I am unaware of which channels were involved in what kind of wrongdoing, the channels would be disadvantaged due to the BARC action. In the medium to long term, the action would prove to be detrimental to the channels vis-a-vis advertising because the client decides to put his money on the basis of clear feedback and seeks value for every pie invested,” Bhasin added.
Some experts were rather vocal about change in their approach. “I will certainly not recommend these channels for my clients,” an Initiative Media (formerly Lintas Media) business director told Indiantelevision.com.
The business director said she would rather advise other substitute (surrogate) channels so that her clients do not suffer. She agreed that the BARC India decision may not directly impact regional and local brands, but, she said, media planners who would draw up annual national strategies for their respective clients would certainly keep the BARC India’s suspension decision in mind.
However, some client-companies were rather cautious. HDFC Life senior executive vice-president, marketing, analytics, digital & e-commerce Sanjay Tripathy said: “The channels concerned are denying any wrong-doing at this point. However, if the channels are found guilty of any wrongdoing as suggested in media reports, it is only fair then that they face the consequences. Prima facie, we believe before taking such a stance, due process would have been followed by the authorities by BARC (India) and should wait to this matter to be clarified before taking any hasty decisions.”
For the sake of an independent and unbiased article, IPG Mediabrands CEO Shashi Sinha chose not to comment since he chaired the technical committee of BARC India.
“Advertisers who do not utilise the services of media buying agencies may continue to advertise on the errant channels,” said Madison World chairman Sam Balsara. “But, advertisers who take the help of agencies that use scientific methods of calculating GRPs (gross rating point) would over a period of time keep away from such channels,” he added. To a question whether advertisers would mind the temporary suspension, Sam said, “They would and they should.”
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BARC India suspends three errant channels’ review
MAM
Nielsen launches co-viewing pilot to sharpen TV measurement
Super Bowl pilot to refine how shared TV audiences are counted
MUMBAI: Nielsen is taking a fresh stab at one of television’s oldest blind spots: how many people are actually watching the same screen. The audience-measurement giant on February 4 unveiled a co-viewing pilot that uses wearable devices to better capture shared viewing, starting with America’s biggest broadcast stage.
The trial begins with Super Bowl LX on NBC on February 8, 2026, before extending to other high-profile live sports and entertainment events in the first half of the year. The goal is simple but commercially potent: count viewers more accurately, especially during live spectacles that pull families and friends to one screen.
The new approach leans on Nielsen’s proprietary wearable meters, wrist-worn devices that resemble smartwatches. These passively capture audio signatures from TV content, logging exposure to shows, films and live events without requiring viewers to sign in or self-report. In theory, fewer clicks, fewer lapses, better data.
Karthik Rao, Nielsen’s ceo, cast the move as part of a broader measurement push. He said the company’s task is to keep pushing accuracy as clients invest heavily in live programming that draws mass audiences. The co-viewing pilot, he added, builds on upgrades such as Big Data + Panel measurement, out-of-home expansion, live-streaming metrics and wearable-based tracking.
Co-viewing is not new territory for Nielsen, which has long tried to estimate how many people sit before a single set. What is new is the heavier integration of wearables and passive detection to reduce reliance on active inputs from panel homes.
For now, the pilot comes with caveats. Co-viewing estimates from the trial will not be folded into Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel ratings, which remain the industry’s trading currency. Instead, pilot findings will be shared with clients a few weeks after final Big Data + Panel ratings are delivered. Clients may disclose those findings publicly.
More impact data will follow later this year. Full integration into Nielsen’s marketing-intelligence suite is slated as a longer-term play, with a target of bringing co-viewing into currency measurement for the 2026–2027 season. This is only phase one, with further co-viewing enhancements planned beyond 2026 and additional timelines to be announced.
The push fits a wider pattern. Nielsen has in recent years expanded big-data integration, adopted first-party data for live-streaming measurement and broadened out-of-home tracking. It also positions itself as the reference point for streaming metrics through products such as The Gauge and the Nielsen Streaming Top 10.
In a market where billions of ad dollars hinge on decimal points, counting who is in the room matters. If Nielsen can pin down shared viewing, the humble sofa could become prime measurement real estate. The race to count every eyeball just found a new wrist to watch.
Brands
Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board
Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.
Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.
“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.
The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.
Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.
The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.
MAM
Meta appoints Anuvrat Rao as APAC head of commerce partnerships
At Locofy.ai, Rao helped convert a three-year free beta into a paid engine, clocking 1,000 subscribers and 15 enterprise clients within ten days of launch in September 2024. The low-code startup, backed by Accel and top tech founders, is famed for turning designs into production-ready code using proprietary large design models.
Before that, Rao founded generative AI venture 1Bstories, which was acquired by creative AI platform Laetro in mid-2024, where he briefly served as managing director for APAC. Alongside operating roles, he has been an active investor and advisor since 2020, backing startups such as BotMD, Muxy, Creator plus, Intellect, Sealed and CricFlex through a creator-economy-led thesis.
Rao spent over eight years at Google, holding senior partnership roles across search, assistant, chrome, web and YouTube in APAC, and earlier cut his teeth in strategy consulting at OC&C in London and investment finance at W. P. Carey in Europe and the US.
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