A WhatsApp conversation between Arnab Goswami, managing director of Outlier Media (Republic TV) and Partho Dasgupta, former chief executive of BARC India, went viral. The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has since reacted to the case, demanding the suspension of Republic TV's IBF membership.
"NBA Board is also of the view that the manipulation of ratings by Republic TV has immensely damaged the reputation of the broadcast industry and therefore it should be kept out of BARC rating system till final court order," the NBA statement says.
The NBA has demanded immediate cancellation of Republic TV's membership of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation. "Over the past few months, messages from WhatsApp have been used to fake Republic TV viewers and lower the ratings of other channels. This means that Republic TV has manipulated ratings to garner greater viewership numbers month after month by fraudulently manually reducing ratings of other channels, the NBA said.
"These WhatsApp messages not only reflect manipulation of ratings but are also about power play. The messages exchanged go on to refer to the appointment of Secretaries, Cabinet reshuffle, access to the PMO and the workings of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This only confirms the many and continuous allegations made by NBA in the last 4 years that ratings were being manipulated by a non-NBA member broadcaster in connivance with BARC's top management officials," the NBA statement reads.