BARC-O-Meter: India’s TRP ratings giant’s monopoly may end amid OTT and connected screen shift

Before the rise of multiplexes and the OTT boom, a single number ruled Indian television: TRP. It was TRPs that crowned Kaun Banega Crorepati as the king of quiz shows, turned Bigg Boss into a national obsession, and kept the CID force on its toes. And one of the organisations behind those numbers was the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).

Every Thursday morning, broadcasters and advertisers would hold their collective breath for the BARC ratings. Its figures shaped careers, dictated budgets, and demanded strategy pivots. In India’s television economy, BARC ratings were the hard currency that drove billions in ad spend.