BARC expands audience measurement system, adds 25,000 panel homes in 2022

In a bid to strengthen the audience measurement system, Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) is adding to more and more panel home. As per reports, BARC added close to 25000 panel homes in December 2022 pushing the number of panel homes from 30000 to 55000.

The system is reportedly all set to add another 20000 odd homes to the panel in the next three years. The accuracy of TV viewership data largely depends on the number of panel meters installed in audience homes.

The sample universe for BARC’s currency electronic measurement panel consists of individuals two years of age and older, residing in television households in all parts of India, except certain geographies that are unreachable due to the harsh terrain, distance, or political unrest and safety concerns.

As per BARC’s measurement methodology, their panel is recruited in a two-stage process. The first stage consists of the Broadcast India (BI) Establishment Survey (ES). This is a large-scale face-to-face survey of a sample of approximately 3 lakh households from the target population. The ES furnishes a list of households (i.e., sampling frame) from which the panel itself is drawn. In the case where there are not sufficient ES records to meet panel recruitment needs, additional households are added to the sampling frame through the process of a listing study (LS). The second stage of the process is Recruitment. It is in the recruitment stage that the appropriate candidate households are approached to join the panel.