BARC India Orders ‘Forensic Audit’ Of Twenty-Four’s ‘Bribe For Good Rating’ Allegations
BARC India has commissioned an independent forensic audit following explosive claims by Malayalam news channel Twenty-Four of a Rs 100-crore television ratings manipulation racket involving one of its employees and a Kerala-based channel owner. The ratings body acknowledged the allegations aired recently, stressing its commitment to integrity amid a preliminary police probe led by Kerala’s Director General of Police, Ravada Chandrashekhar.
Twenty-Four News reported that a prominent channel owner from Kerala allegedly transferred nearly Rs 100 crore via USDT cryptocurrency to BARC employee Premnath’s Trust Wallet, enabling the sharing of sensitive data like PIN codes of meter-installed households to artificially inflate ratings. An investigation by the channel uncovered WhatsApp chats and call logs where Premnath reportedly sent advance weekly viewership figures — later matching official releases exactly — and acknowledged payments with emojis. The channel owner purportedly masked a sudden TRP spike by claiming credit for a landing-page slot on a minor North Kerala cable operator with just 20,000 subscribers, despite Kerala’s 8.5 million cable homes.
The Kerala Television Federation lodged a complaint with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and BARC’s leadership, prompting the DGP to term the matter “very serious” and initiate evidence collection on digital trails and finances. Funds from Premnath’s wallet allegedly flowed to multiple recipients, hinting at broader networks beyond Kerala. Parallel suspicions involve the owner’s investments in overseas “phone-farming” in Malaysia and Thailand to boost YouTube views, alongside paid social media pushes for deceptive popularity.
In its November 28 statement, BARC urged restraint from unverified claims during the audit by a reputed agency, declining to name the firm or timeline. Premnath, a founding member since 2015 and recent Vice-President from Tamil Nadu’s Vellore with prior Times Group experience, stands accused of leveraging insider access. This echoes the 2020 TRP scandal but centres on an alleged internal betrayal.
The scandal erupts as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting consults on overhauling audience measurement, proposing a 1.2 lakh-household panel, multiple agencies to end BARC’s monopoly, stricter conflict rules, and excluding landing-page viewership from TRPs. These fixes target vulnerabilities like meter tampering in India’s Rs 50,000-crore TV ad ecosystem, where rivals claim the manipulations undercut fair competition.
