Milind Bharambe, Joint CP Crime, Mumbai Police.
Key points
- According to the forensic report, the 44-week data, from mid-2017, mentions how audience and TRP data was manipulated using three of BARC’s methodologies.
- The report states that in some of the cases, the ratings appeared to be predetermined
“Was Times Now deliberately named number 2?”
“According to the report, yes,” said Milind Bharambe, Joint Police Commissioner (Crime), Mumbai Police.
Almost three months after Mumbai police stopped a major scandal for tampering with TV Rating Points (TRP), details of the investigation revealed that former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) Executive Director Partho Dasgupta, who was arrested Thursday, had facilitated malpractice. with other television news channels to downgrade Times Now’s ratings.
At a news conference in Mumbai, Bharambe said that manipulation of the PRT had been going on since 2016, where the ratings appeared to be predetermined.
The scam took place when Dasgupta was the head of BARC from 2013 to 2019. During that period, many tried to expose the manipulation that was being done, but the whistleblowers were clinically repressed. He has now been detained until December 28.
“After the new dispensing took over at BARC, the forensic data audit was arranged and the third-party audit team submitted their report in July 2020. According to the report, tampering has been going on at least from 2016-2019 . The forensic team analyzed data from around 44 weeks in detail, especially in the English and Telugu news genre, where they found manipulation to a great extent, ”Bharambe said.
According to the forensic report, the 44-week data, from mid-2017, mentions how audience and TRP data were manipulated through the use of three of their methodologies, in which two channels are mentioned according to the report: Times Now (which was at No. 1 in English at the time) was thrown at No. 2 due to data manipulation and Republic TV was placed at No. 1.
The report further indicates that in some of the cases, the ratings appeared to be predetermined. The report also pointed to the cartelization of senior and former BARC officials.
“Of the 3 methods used to filter and analyze the data (outlier method, meta method, and channel audience control), the data was selectively chosen, analyzed, and cast to show a particular TRP rating for a particular channel. The report also mentions quite a few emails and talks between senior officials pointing to all these types of manipulations, which are absolutely incriminating, ”said the chief police officer.
Excerpts from the chats, according to the Mumbai police report:
- Below you will find the news numbers in English. As necessary, the Times Now numbers were changed while Republic remained the same.
- Below you will find updates on English news channels during the week. X. Times Now, CNN News18 will change. Times Now prints had been drastically reduced across the universe. Republic TV impressions were unchanged.
- Don’t think we should edit the declarations. We can get by by changing the logic.
Republic TV ‘laughs’ at the allegations
The claims of the Mumbai police are ridiculous. Republic Media Network would like to destroy your claims with the following points:
- BARC has twice emailed Republic dated October 17, 2020 and November 20, 2020, saying that there was no possibility of manipulation by Republic TV.
- The forensic report referred to by the Mumbai police is from July 2020. The BARC emails they send us are from November and December 2020. It defies common sense why BARC would give Republic Media Network a completely clean note in November and December. Mumbai police should have thought of that.
- Republic Media Network’s ratings skyrocketed in 2020 after the previous dispensation was moved into BARC. If you look at the data, the audience increased in the second half of 2020. Do the Mumbai police have any explanation for this? Or do you hold the current dispensing at BARC guilty by the Republic TV audience?
BARC statement
The development related to former BARC India employees is part of an ongoing investigation for which BARC management continues to extend its support and cooperation to law enforcement agencies. Consequently, it would be inappropriate for BARC to comment further at this stage.
Every BARC India employee is expected to abide by a Code of Conduct and Ethics and any violation invites appropriate disciplinary action.
We will continue to ensure that WHAT INDIA WATCHES is reported accurately and with the utmost integrity. It is a responsibility that we owe to all of our stakeholders.
