No Small Feat: Building a ratings agency in India cost upwards of Rs 1,000 crore
Any serious player entering the TRP market will need to invest between Rs 1,000–2,000 crore just to reach a credible operational baseline, in addition to the annual recurring costs at Rs 100–150 crore.
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As the floodgates open for new players in India’s audience measurement landscape, a stark reality emerges: setting up a full-fledged television and digital ratings agency in India is not just capital-intensive — it’s operationally and legally complex.
According to top industry executives, any serious player entering the Television Rating Points (TRP) market will need to invest between Rs 1,000–2,000 crore, just to reach a credible operational baseline.
That includes infrastructure setup—panel creation, Return Path Data (RPD) integration via set-top boxes, tech platform development, field surveys, and continuous system audits.
Some players estimate annual recurring costs at Rs 100–150 crore.
“This is an operation-heavy business with very high fixed costs,” reveals an industry insider. “Unless multiple players can build differentiated infrastructure or share systems sustainably, most will bleed financially.”
In its latest assessment, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) noted that India currently has approximately 230 million television households. However, only about 58,000 people meters are presently used to capture viewership data, representing just 0.025% of the total TV homes.
This minuscule sample, according to MIB, undermines the reliability of the TRP system, especially in a country as demographically diverse as India. The current system, managed solely by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), also fails to include data from smart TVs, OTT platforms, and mobile apps—areas where audience attention is rapidly shifting.
This admission highlights the need for an updated ratings framework that reflects contemporary viewing patterns across platforms and devices.
BARC, formed after years of measurement manipulation controversies, reportedly spent just Rs 160–180 crore during its setup phase in 2015. But today, to match technological expectations and integrate with digital platforms, the costs are substantially higher.
Foreign firms might have the capital, but they may lack ground-level experience in India’s diverse media landscape. This has led some to predict that foreign entrants may initially adopt a partnership or joint venture model with Indian firms rather than set up independently.
From a legal lens, entities must navigate the Companies Act, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, and the Competition Act.
Establishing a ratings agency requires $20–30 million upfront for metering technology, software, and compliance with the Companies Act, 2013, plus $10–15 million annually to operate across India’s diverse markets, say experts.
"Data privacy, sample methodology, and anti-manipulation provisions must be baked into the operations of any ratings player. If conflict-of-interest provisions aren’t enforced, the sector could quickly regress into chaos, repeating the problems that led to BARC’s creation in the first place," points out Sonam Chandwani of KS Legal.
Following are the significant regulatory implications any new entity would face:
- Data Protection and Localization: Foreign entities will be required to comply strictly with India’s data protection laws, including storage, processing, and cross-border transfer provisions under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
- Strategic Oversight: Given the role of ratings in shaping public opinion, advertising revenue, and electoral narratives, the government is likely to introduce oversight frameworks to mitigate risks around content manipulation or foreign influence, say Shivalika Midha, Advocate, Jotwani Associates.
- Auditability and Transparency: The government may require foreign entrants to undergo regular third-party audits, disclose their measurement methodologies, and maintain compliance with any guidelines issued by BARC, TRAI, or future regulatory bodies.
So while the regulatory liberalization opens the doors for foreign investment and global competition, it must be underpinned by a strong governance architecture. Done right, this shift can catalyse a much-needed transformation in India’s media measurement landscape, enhancing both trust and accountability across platforms.
Experts also caution that while the policy change is welcome, the idea of multiple agencies functioning simultaneously—each with their own data—is deeply flawed in the Indian context.
Ashish Bhasin, Founder of The Bhasin Consulting Group, argues that India’s demographic and linguistic complexity means even pooled resources won’t yield representative samples. “You’re better off having one robust, well-governed body like BARC, rather than ten fragmented, under-funded ones,” he says.
And then there’s the issue of ROI. Most new entrants may struggle to recover investments if broadcasters and agencies—who foot the bill—refuse to pay for multiple ratings or doubt their credibility.
“Multiple currencies will only confuse advertisers and hurt the very ecosystem this move intends to empower,” sums up a senior media executive.
