Suspension of weekly TRP data by BARC hasn't impacted ad revenues: ABP Network

ABP Network said advertising agencies rely on inputs beyond the weekly data from the BARC for buying ad inventory.

Mumbai: Television news player ABP Network on Tuesday said rating body BARC's decision to suspend viewership data has not impacted its advertising revenues.

ABP Network Chief Executive Officer Avinash Pandey, which runs news channels across Hindi, Marathi and Bengali languages, said advertising agencies rely on inputs beyond the weekly data from the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) for buying ad inventory.

The brands know which channel helps their sales, he told reporters adding that advertising by small and medium businesses has also helped the network.

A few weeks ago, the Mumbai Police had claimed to have unearthed a fake TRP (television rating points) scandal alleging that the BARC's measurement was being compromised to increase advertising revenues. It has arrested many people in the case, including Republic Media Network Chief Executive Vikas Khanchandani.

Revenues for both the network and overall TV news genre have not been affected as a result of the BARC decision to temporarily suspend the release of the data till the methodology is revised.

Pandey said that while BARC has the best team of statisticians, we cannot depend on 50,000 homes alone to determine what the country watches.

He also expressed his gratitude to BARC for taking a course correction step to improve the rating credibility.

Meanwhile, he said the first quarter was "terrible" for the news industry from an advertising revenue perspective but things have since improved and the inventory utilisation levels for his network are back to pre-COVID-19 levels since July.

Advertising rates are also going up, he said adding that in some cases, they are higher by 10-25 per cent as well.

Last year, 10 per cent of the network's revenue came from digital presence which is expected to go up to 15 per cent this year, Pandey said.

ABP Network on Tuesday launched a new brand logo, and Pandey said there will be changes in programmes as well to include more of documentary dramas and entertainment-focused shows.

(PTI Report)