BARC India Profit Takes a Hit

18 Nov 2024 , 01:33 PM

According to regulatory filings, the official TV audience measuring organisation in India, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), recorded a 44% decline in earnings after tax year 2023–2024, to Rs 20 crore.

Revenue dropped from Rs 321 crore in the previous fiscal year to Rs 319 crore, a slight 0.6% decrease.

Seventy-five percent of BARC’s revenue comes from broadcasters, making it a vital participant in India’s media landscape. Because clients are invoiced quarterly in advance, it helps maintain predictable cash flow by charging a fee based on a set percentage of advertising income.

BARC is supported by three significant industry associations: the Advertising Agencies Association of India, the Indian Society of Advertisers, and the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation, who each own 20% of the company.

The TV broadcasting business uses BARC’s ratings as a standard when making judgements about advertising. It uses cutting-edge watermarking technology with a panel base of over 60,000 ‘Bar-O meters’ to collect data.

The company that installs and maintains BARC’s Bar-O-meters, Meterology Data Pvt Ltd (MDPL), reported a 60% drop in net profit to Rs 2 crore for 2023–24, while sales dropped 2% to Rs 105 crore.

About 55,000 panels and 2,500 out-of-home meters are managed by MDPL, of which BARC owns 51% and TAM Media Research the remaining 49%. The company gathers data from urban and rural India.

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