By Divyanshi Sinha
A major rift has emerged between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) and India's leading broadcasters following the formal rollout of the TV Ratings Policy 2026. The new framework, aimed at fixing the "opaque" nature of the TRP system, mandates that rating agencies scale up to 120,000 metered homes and introduces a strict "dual-audit" system.
While the government argues these steps are necessary for transparency, major broadcast networks have labeled the policy "over-engineered." Executives warn that the requirement to disclose detailed methodologies and "anonymized datasets" could lead to conflicting interpretations by advertisers, potentially destabilizing the ₹50,000 crore TV ad market. A key point of contention is the new rule that "landing page" viewership will no longer count toward ratings—a move that could significantly impact the perceived reach of smaller news and niche channels
