BARC & Airtel Digital TV jointly to get return path data for audience measurement

Audience measurement agency,Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, has entered into a partnership with Airtel Digital TV, the direct-to-home (DTH) arm of Bharti Airtel. 

The deal will allow BARC to include the DTH player’s subscriber homes into BARC’s return path data (RPD) panel for TV viewership measurement. 

RPD is used globally for collecting viewership data. However, BARC India’s plan to integrate it into TV viewership currency is a global first. Random selection will be done among the selected RPD homes to include them in the currency panel basis overall Airtel Digital TV universe share in the TV ecosystem. 

In October last year, BARC India had signed on multi system operator DEN Networks for measuring TV Viewership using RPD. By tying up with Airtel Digital TV, BARC India has added a significant DTH subscriber base to its proposed RPD panel. 

BARC said that the move will not only make its data more robust, but will also help address the issue of panel home tampering. 

“Our partnership with Airtel Digital TV will strengthen our RPD rollout plan. Panel home expansion is absolutely critical for us considering the diversity in the country which is visible even in the way TV content is consumed. RPD will give the industry a cost-effective way of expanding panel home size. The distribution platform owners too will benefit with RPD. It will give them a better understanding into what their subscribers are consuming on TV. This will help the industry at large,” said Romil Ramgarhia, CBO, BARC India. 

Ref. : https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/media/barc-join-hands-with-airtel-digital-tv-for-return-path-data-for-audience-measurement/articleshow/63203189.cms --- Dated: Mar'08,2018