BARC Hires Nielsen for 'Largest' TV Study

In India, TV rating body BARC has commissioned Nielsen to conduct what it is describing as the country's largest universe estimation study on television ownership and viewing habits.

BARC (the Broadcast Audience Research Council) is backed by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, the Advertising Agencies Association of India, and the Indian Society of Advertisers, and was formed to oversee and control the television audience measurement system in India. The new study will aim to provide the marketing industry with an in-depth understanding of count and composition of television households in India, and will also gather data on television owning households in small towns and rural India. In addition, it will capture the shift in content viewing between linear mediums like the television set, and digital mediums such as smartphones and tablets.

The study will be conducted using technology with a digital focus, including tools and methods such as CAPI, GPS technology, and phone number validation via OTPs. As part of the study, Nielsen will cover 300,000 households, and the first round of findings will be released by BARC in early 2016. According to the organisation, this will be the largest study of its kind.

Partho Dasgupta (pictured), BARC CEO, comments: 'This pioneering study will help address many questions faced by the industry today, and be a ready reckoner for marketers and advertisers, while also helping the panel expansion for television measurement. The methodology that has been selected will reduce the time taken for the study, and allow for a quicker turnaround compared to traditional methods'.

Web sites: www.barcindia.co.in and www.nielsen.com .