With BARC ratings suspended since June 2026, GTPL Hathway is testing set-top box data to track viewership. While this offers granular data, the shift faces hurdles in replacing traditional industry currency due to lack of demographic detail and standardization issues.
The suspension of official Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) ratings since June 2026 has left a significant void in the Indian media measurement space. In the absence of a unified national metric, cable and distribution platforms are increasingly turning to Return-Path-Data (RPD) from connected set-top boxes to provide visibility into television consumption habits.
The Shift to RPD Analytics
GTPL Hathway has emerged as a key player in this transition, launching a pilot program to derive viewership data directly from its network. The company is collaborating with TAM India to scale this initiative, with plans to expand coverage from 10,000 to 50,000 set-top boxes. Unlike traditional panel-based measurement, which relies on a representative sample of households equipped with people-meters, RPD captures real-time data from every connected device in the operator's network. Proponents suggest this offers a more granular look at channel surfing and viewership patterns across a wider range of households.
While the technology offers immense potential for internal content optimization—a strategy long employed by major operators like Tata Play—the path to establishing RPD as a credible industry-wide currency remains fraught with difficulties. The fundamental disconnect lies in the nature of the data. Traditional metrics provide deep demographic insights, such as age, gender, and income levels, which are critical for advertisers to set specific pricing. RPD, in its current form, typically identifies channel activity at the device level without granular details on the individual viewer. This gap limits its ability to fully replace the legacy panel-based systems that broadcasters and advertisers have relied on for decades.
Challenges in Industry Standardization
Scaling these measurement initiatives for the broader industry also involves heavy financial and logistical hurdles. Previous industry attempts to integrate RPD, notably involving Airtel Digital TV and DEN Networks, struggled to gain traction. Disagreements over data sharing, the costs of building the necessary infrastructure, and the lack of a common methodology stalled these efforts. Without a unified, transparent standard, data from individual operators remains siloed, making it difficult for advertisers to compare performance across different networks.
Regulatory pressure is adding momentum to this shift, with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s 2026 guidelines encouraging the adoption of new measurement technologies. However, until a standardized methodology is established that can aggregate data while maintaining demographic depth, RPD may serve more as a regional or platform-specific tool rather than a comprehensive national replacement for the suspended BARC ratings. Investors should track the progress of these scaling efforts and whether a consensus emerges among distribution platforms and advertisers to create a shared, industry-accepted framework for viewership measurement.