News Broadcasters’ Federation (NBF), an industry lobbying body for TV news channels in India, has said in a statement that BARC India’s decision to suspend audience data for news channels was not taken in consultation with the federation or its members.

“Who is the so-called ‘INDUSTRY’  that you mention in Paragraph 3 (….your decisions are steered entirely by the guidance and feedback from ‘INDUSTRY’ )? Is it (this so called ‘industry’) represented by individuals or a body, which bears a name and identity? Or, is it a completely faceless and nameless force that is working overtime for the past year to make sure that the report for news channels doesn’t come out at any cost? It is imperative that you share the specifics,” NBF has said in a fresh letter sent to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, copies of which were released to the media yesterday.

Pointing out that NBF is the largest news body in the country recognized by the government, NBF has questioned the people who “influenced” BARC India to suspend the viewership data for news channels.

“Are these individuals/organisations shareholders in BARC & do they also happen to be on the board of BARC? If this is true, it establishes a complete violation of corporate governance and a deep conflict of interest suggesting an unacceptable level of cartelization,” NBF has pointed out.

The news body has urged BARC India “once again to be fair” by not singling out the news genre and resume audience data for the news TV channels immediately.