MUMBAI: Media house Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd (BCCL) has sent a legal notice to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) alleging “shocking illegal and fraudulent viewership manipulation and tampering of Television Audience Measurement and Television Rating Points (TRP)”, particularly of its channel Times Now, to seek over Rs 430 crore as compensation.
The notice cited forensic reports of July 24, 2020 and December 1, 2020 and a press conference held by Mumbai Police on December 25 last year in relation to the investigation conducted into activities of BARC to say that “Times Now’s viewership numbers/TRP were clearly fudged and manipulated by BARC from 2017 onwards’’.
BARC is an industry body founded by stakeholders who represent broadcasters, advertisers and advertising and media agencies. The notice alleges that Times Now’s viewership numbers were “deliberately and in a concerted manner, reduced for giving benefit” to “another newly launched English news channel” and that this has “considerably and adversely impacted the revenue, growth, reputation, goodwill and image of Times Now channel and the Times Group at the national and international level.’’
The notice has relied on the chargesheet filed by Mumbai police in the TRP manipulation case as well as a forensic report, which cites internal mails between various officials of BARC.
Former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta has been in custody since his arrest on December 24, 2020. The notice said a press conference by joint police commissioner of Mumbai Police (crime) and a forensic report revealed that BARC had conducted a forensic audit in July 2020 “which revealed that the TRPs of various channels were manipulated, rigged, tampered and at times pre-decided by the erstwhile upper echelon of BARC’’ and the TRPs of Times Now, which was leading in the number one position till May 2017, was allegedly “suspiciously reduced’’ to the second position.
It alleged that “this gross misreporting of an entire Genre for a protracted period” caused “significant financial loss” to Times Now. Despite the findings of the audit, BARC chose to suppress the matter and not report it to the authorities, it added.
The BCCL notice said the alleged tampered data from BARC “constitutes moral turpitude and criminal breach of trust, cheating and fabrication and manipulation of records…gross abuse of its position being the sole rating agency in the country…” The BCCL notice dated February 11, has asked BARC to “release a Press Statement’’ on its website to clarify that Times Now was the number one channel as per its own data and the “undis puted leader in English News Genre from 2017-2019.”
It also asked BARC to publicize and publish, at its own cost, the press statement in top publications across the country. The media house has further sought that BARC should publish the “Acquisory Risk Consulting’s forensic audit report” on its website in compliance with applicable codes and guidelines.
The notice added, “Basis the forensic audit report dated 24.07.2020 and the charge-sheet,” BARC must “initiate Disciplinary Action against the errant broadcasters” and its officials who are/were allegedly involved in the fraudulent activities and “impose appropriate penalties including cancellation of the EULA of the errant subscribers.”
The notice called for compliance within seven days from the date of its receipt failing which, BCCL said, it would be constrained to adopt appropriate criminal as well as civil action.