The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has once again extended its directive to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to withhold Television Rating Points (TRPs) for news channels for another four weeks, an official familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
This is the third such directive. The first order was issued on March 6, 2026, when the government initially halted TRP reporting for four weeks. The Department, in an order dated March 31, asked BARC to continue to suspend publication of TRP reports “for a further period of four (4) weeks or until further directives, whichever is earlier.”
The ministry has now sent a new letter dated May 6 to BARC, extending the freeze for another four weeks, an official told HT. The letter did not specifically mention the ongoing conflict in West Asia as the cause, as previous letters had done. However, an I&B Ministry official said the extension was due to the conflict.
TRPs, a way to measure how many people watch a particular TV channel or show, affect advertising revenue and competition among news channels.
With the latest extension, TV news channels will continue to operate without publicly available ratings for at least another month, unless the government issues other directives earlier.
In its previous directions, the ministry said the move aims to reduce “unjustified sensationalism and speculative content” by some TV news channels while covering the conflict. The government said such reports could cause panic and anxiety among viewers, especially those with family or friends in the affected areas.
The ongoing conflict in West Asia began in late February.
Replying to a Lok Sabha question on April 1 about the temporary halt of TRP programmes, the ministry said that during Operation Sindoor, several TV news channels were found broadcasting “unwarranted sensationalist and speculative content”. She added that such trends are common during crises and can increase anxiety among the public.
