BARC mulling expansion of viewership measurement with 12,000 home digital panel: EXCLUSIVE

Marketers are increasingly allocating a significant portion of their advertising budgets to digital channels. This surge has created a demand for reliable data for marketers to make informed decisions and measure return on investment before committing resources.

However the digital advertising ecosystem lacks a single accredited body to address these needs.

The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) is potentially taking a major leap forward in audience measurement, aiming to capture a more comprehensive picture of how viewers consume content on digital.

The measuring body has been operating a digital panel of 12000 homes for the past six to seven years. Storyboard18 has learnt that it is now considering the decision to activate this panel, which will allow it to gather digital viewership data. It would be a crucial step forward.

BARC is working on a host of forward-looking measures to enhance measurement comprehensively.

Across the board, stakeholders have been looking for a holistic measurement system.

“For many clients digital advertising spend has surpassed TV. However, the lack of standardized metrics across platforms creates challenges in measuring ROI. A centralized body with expertise in digital measurement can help clients understand where their money is going and optimize their campaigns for better results,” Deleise Ross, Senior VP and Business Head, MudraMax had told Storyboard18 in a previous interaction.

Sanchayeeta Verma, CEO, Carat India echoed Ross’ thoughts. According to her, a unified single-source multi-media measurement system on the lines of the global WFA framework, utilizing the open-source code and frameworks provided by WFA on the ‘Halo’ platform is the need of the hour. Given that this has been underway globally since 2020, India is lagging on this front.

Correction: A previous version of this article had a misplaced comma in the headline with reference to the number 12,000. We regret the error. The article has been updated to reflect the correction.