TRP Scam: Times Group Sends Legal Notice to BARC, Seeks Rs 450 Cr in Damages
The notice, which follows alleged chats between Partho Dasgupta and Arnab Goswami, said BARC should also publish a statement stating that Times Now was the leader in the English news genre between 2017-2019.
Logos of BARC and Republic TV and a TV control room. Photo: Reuters Illustration: The Wire
Media15/Feb/2021
Mumbai: Media giant Times Group on Sunday said it has sent a legal notice to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), alleging the TV rating agency “deliberately reduced” its English news channel’s viewership at the behest of a rival launched in 2017 and demanded compensation of Rs 450 crore.
Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd (BCCL) that owns the
Times of India newspaper and Times Now channel has sent legal notice to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) alleging illegal and fraudulent viewership data manipulation and tampering of television rating points (TRP) of its TV channel, Times Now, by the Council. In the notice, BCCL has demanded a compensation of Rs431 crore along with an interest from BARC. It also asked refund of its licence fee of Rs21.83 crore paid to BARC along with the interest.
In the notice (seen by
Moneylife), BCCL says, Times Now’s viewership numbers or TRP were clearly fudged and manipulated by BARC from 2017-onwards. Times Now’s viewership numbers were deliberately and in a concerted manner, reduced for giving benefit to the newly launched channel, which has considerably and adversely impacted the revenue, growth, reputation, goodwill and image of the Times Now channel and the Times Group at the national and international level.
The channel demands Rs 431 in compensation from the ratings agency.
15 Feb, 2021 - 08:23 AM IST | By indiantelevision.com Team
NEW DELHI: Bennet Coleman and Company has sent a legal notice to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) alleging illegal and fraudulent viewership data manipulation, and tampering of television rating points (TRP) of its English news channel Times Now.
The company has also sought for a compensation of over Rs 400 crore for the same. The notice alleged that the ratings of the channel were deliberately manipulated 2017 onwards to give benefit to a newly launched channel.
The legal notice placed reliance on external forensic audit reports dated 24 July 2020 and 1 December 2020, and findings of the Mumbai police chargesheet in the TRP scam case and the press conference in relation to the investigation.
Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd is a subscriber of viewership data from Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). Broadcast Audience Research Council
New Delhi: Times Group has sent a legal notice to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), alleging the TV rating agency deliberately reduced its English news channel s (Times Now) viewership at the behest of a rival launched in 2017 MZM Legal LLP on behalf of Bennett, Coleman and Co (BCCL) on February 11. The media giant has demanded a compensation of Rs 450 crores.
The notice was sent on February 11 following a probe by Mumbai Police into the fake TRP case. The former chief executive of BARC Parto Dasgupta and Republic s promoter and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, have been arrested in connection with the case.
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