MUMBAI: Indian television ratings measurement body Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India will be releasing the much awaited rural viewership data, starting next week (week 41).

The same has received the go ahead from the board members of BARC India. 

With this, BARC India, which currently reports about 55 million households representing cable and satellite (C&S) universe of 1 Lac+, will expand its reach to 153.5 million TV households, representing All India and all modes of signal. Of this, 77.5 million are urban TV households and 76 million are rural TV households.

BARC India, which had recently inked a joint venture with TAM Media to form a meter management company, is working on the dynamics of it and will soon announce its integration plan.

“With the board giving us the go ahead to release the rural data, one will see ‘What India Watches.’ We will be releasing the data starting week 41,” said BARC India CEO Partho Dasgupta.

The absence of rural data has greatly irked pubcaster Doordarshan and in the recent past, Prasar Bharati chief executive officer Jahwar Sircar has openly voiced his concerns on the same as DD was not adequately represented in BARC's urban data. 

Reacting to BARC's decision to roll out rural data from week 41, Sircar told Indiantelevision.com, "BARC has agreed to release Rural Data from next week, good for all players. I thank BARC."