The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has introduced new operational guidelines under the revised TV Ratings Policy 2026. The new rules explain how viewership from landing pages will be treated in television ratings.The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the updated policy clearly explains how viewership generated through landing pages will be removed from official TV ratings.
What Are Landing Pages?
Landing pages are promotional placements used by cable and DTH operators. A specific TV channel automatically appears when viewers switch on their television sets. Channels often pay promotional or carriage fees for these placements because they help increase reach and impressions quickly.
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Viewership From Landing Pages Will Not Count
Under the new policy, any viewership coming directly from landing pages will not be included in TV ratings. The guidelines state, “Any viewership arising out of the landing page shall not be counted in the viewership measurement, while landing pages may continue to be used only as a marketing tool.”
BARC also said that if a watermarked channel appears on a landing page and becomes the first channel viewed, that viewership will be completely removed from ratings calculations.
Rules Apply to Barker Pages Too
The same rules will also apply to Barker Pages. These are promotional screens that show still images or audio-visual advertisements. If the content carries a watermark, the related viewership will not be counted in ratings.
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Aim of the New Policy
The new policy aims to ensure that TV ratings reflect what viewers actually choose to watch, instead of viewership created through automatic channel placements. The move is seen as one of the biggest changes in India’s TV ratings system in recent years after concerns over ratings manipulation.
