Kozhikode ∙ MediaOne, a prominent Malayalam news channel, has announced its decision to sever ties with the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), the primary television rating agency in India. The channel stated that the decision was taken due to a complete loss of confidence after BARC failed to provide a credible explanation for significant discrepancies between the channel’s high viewership and its poor ratings performance.
MediaOne is the second Indian news channel, after NDTV, to officially withdraw from the BARC rating system.
The channel’s Editor, Pramod Raman, strongly criticized the rating mechanism, calling it “deception, fraud, violence, and immorality.” He alleged that the system secretly and mysteriously undermines the audience’s choice.
Key Issues Highlighted by MediaOne:
- Unscientific Methodology: MediaOne pointed out the extremely small sample size used for calculations. BARC meters are installed in fewer than 1,500 locations across the 86 lakh total television homes in the region. Furthermore, the deployment of these meters is allegedly unscientific and does not proportionally represent all regions or demographics in Kerala.
- Vulnerability to Manipulation: The channel alleged that the meters are susceptible to external control and manipulation, referencing the case against Arnab Goswami as an example.
- Digital Discrepancy: The BARC figures completely contradict the channel’s robust digital viewership. MediaOne consistently ranks high in YouTube live and non-live viewership among Malayalam channels, recording over 36.25 million total views in the previous week alone. Despite this massive digital engagement, its BARC ranking remains disproportionately low (around 10th position).
- Advertising Impact: Editor Pramod Raman noted that the approximately ₹4000 to ₹5000 crore business in Kerala is based on these flawed ratings, questioning who is ultimately being deceived.
MediaOne leadership stressed that their decade-long bond with the audience, built on ‘truth and goodness’ in journalism, is far more valuable than any agency’s rating chart. The channel confirmed that it had repeatedly raised concerns about the discrepancies to BARC through direct and email correspondence, but no constructive action was ever taken.
MediaOne will continue to operate with strong audience support until BARC can restore its authenticity and credibility.
