ITV

Tag: TV viewership estimates

  • ISA backs Barc’s data validation method to mitigate impact of landing page

    ISA backs Barc’s data validation method to mitigate impact of landing page

    Mumbai: The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) issued  a statement recently backing Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) India’s landing page algorithm.

    ISA chairman Sunil Kataria said, “Barc algorithm detects landing page with a very high success rate and once detected, the algorithm seeks to remove any forced and voluntary viewership that gets counted as real viewership for that channel.”

    He further said, “This is a fair method and advertisers are aligned on the solution executed by Barc on the issue of landing page viewership.”

    As part of its ongoing Data Validation Quality initiative aimed at improving measurement science and mitigating impact on viewership of extraneous factors, Barc has introduced an algorithm into its data validation method to remove the impact of landing page on forced viewership data across channels. This method directly uses inferential statistics to deliver better results across all genres. This has been verified and authenticated by Barc’s technical committee.

    Earlier, broadcasters represented under the banner of News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) had questioned Barc data validation method and asked it to completely remove the impact landing page data from its viewership estimates. They claimed that use of landing page by news broadcasters equated to an ‘unfair trade practice’. The association also sent a letter addressed to minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur to resolve the issue.

    Established in 1952, the ISA represents the interests of over 170 advertisers, advertising agents and media organisations in the country.

  • Landing pages are bonafide methods of marketing: MK Anand

    Landing pages are bonafide methods of marketing: MK Anand

    Mumbai: The landing page is the first channel where the TV viewer lands when anyone turns on the set-top box, which has become a bone of contention in the news broadcast industry. On one side, there are its critics who have criticized its influence on news ratings that are a currency for negotiating with advertisers. On the other hand, there are its advocates who believe that it is merely a marketing tool.

    The latter view is held by Times Network managing director & CEO, MK Anand, who unflinchingly states that “Landing pages are bonafide methods of marketing.”

    Times Network has been instrumental in securing the order by Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) which recognised the landing page as a legitimate tool for promotion, allowing the broadcasting industry to continue using it.

    News broadcasters have argued that channels are paying ‘astronomical sums’ for placement on the landing page. The cost of placement on the landing page amounting to several crores cannot be matched by the revenue potential of the news genre that is heavily reliant on advertising.

    Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) has attempted to mitigate the impact of the landing page on TV viewership in the past. In September 2020, it introduced algorithms into its data validation method to mitigate the impact of landing pages on viewership data across all genres of channels.

    More specifically, after an extensive review by the Barc oversight committee, it improved or replaced its existing method based on symptomatic statistics with a method that directly uses inferential statistics.

    The viewership data for individual news channels have once again become available after a ‘ratings dark’ period of 18 months and with-it complaints about the accuracy of the ratings. Barc is unable to completely exclude landing page data from its viewership estimates.

    Can the news broadcast industry come to a resolution on the landing page issue? Industry leader MK Anand responds to questions by Indiantelevision.com.

    Do you agree with the view that landing pages are a marketing tool? If yes, should Barc include a disclaimer on news channel data that has been influenced by landing pages?

    Landing pages are bonafide methods of marketing. Every product you purchase has some element of promotion in it. Do we need disclaimers to know that the toothpaste we use has been promoted?

    Does the landing page significantly influence ratings even after Barc’s efforts to mitigate its impact? How much does it influence advertiser spending as they consider looking at 13 weeks’ data to plan budgets? Barc itself is looking at four-week rolling average data for all genres.

    Landing pages provide the viewer with a window to watch when he puts on the set-top box. It does not automatically convert to viewership unless the viewer has spent more than a minute on the channel. This means the content has to be compelling enough. Imagine you put your TV set on and a blank screen comes on and you have the remote in your hand. Would you keep watching the screen for one whole minute or more?

    News broadcasters claim that the landing page leads to un-competitiveness in the news genre as bigger marketing budgets and not content is influencing the ratings which are a representation of authentic TV viewership. Do you agree with this claim?

    That’s a spurious argument. As explained above, viewership is registered only if the viewer continues to stay on the channel. Also, there is nothing unauthentic or otherwise about promoted viewership. These are arguments put forth by players who are unwilling to or unable to spend and compete. This campaign against landing pages is just another form of protectionism.

    What can news channels do to resolve the landing page issue? Should the industry collectively bar itself from using landing pages?
    In a free market, competition takes care of such issues. Collective behaviour is akin to cartelisation.

    What can Barc do to resolve the landing page issue?
    Barc should continue to report what India watches on TV channels that employ bonafide and legal means of content development & distribution.

  • NBF writes to I&B minister Anurag Thakur regarding landing page issue

    NBF writes to I&B minister Anurag Thakur regarding landing page issue

    Mumbai: The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) has written a letter to the union minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur on the issue of landing pages. The landing page is the first channel that the viewer sees when anyone turns on the set-top box.

    The letter is signed by NBF founding president Arnab Goswami and secretary-general Jai Krishna.

    NBF has asked the I&B ministry to address the issue of the landing page being measured by the viewership rating agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) as ‘true viewership’, thereby skewing the final data.

    In its letter, NBF argues that the use of landing pages to alter viewership data is a ‘restrictive trade practice’ leading the way for monopolies to be formed in the news media industry.

    Read Also: Why Barc’s landing page viewership measurement is worrying TV9’s Barun Das

    It claims, “The brazen use of landing pages, bought at a price, to artificially amplify viewership data of certain channels gives channels with deep pockets an anti-competitive advantage. It is shocking that some news channels today get 84 per cent of their viewership from just two states in India, because of landing pages.”

    The letter puts the onus of resolving the landing page issue on Barc stating that the TV audience measurement firm can exclude landing page data from viewership estimates.

    The letter further reads, “In the past, Barc had included unfiltered outliers data from the landing page for its rating data, but had later decided to exclude it from viewership. Therefore, it is clear that Barc has both the ability and the precedent of filtering out landing page data while calculating viewership, but is still not doing so. In fact, in the past, Barc had itself termed the use of landing pages as a “false exaggeration of viewership.”

    The letter appeals to the I&B minister to intervene in the matter.“The NBF is fully committed to working with the Ministry and all stakeholders across the board to address the issue collectively and reach a solution,” the letter concludes.