MUMBAI: With the new TRAI tariff order coming into force from 1 February, the consumption pattern of TV viewership is expected to vary significantly following the impact on the distribution value chain. Considering the challenges during this transition period, the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) executive council has advised its members against using the BARC viewership data for media planning, evaluation and buying perspective.

ISA is of the opinion that it would take a minimum of six weeks to assess the stability of the viewership numbers post the tariff order implementation. The national body of advertisers also believes that the impact will be significantly different in each region of the country given the varied distribution and broadcast landscape .

To drive home the point, the ISA has drawn a parallel to the implementation of GST that involved India moving to a new tax regime.

ISA is also of the view that variance in pre and post evaluations will be higher than the usual and will be highly unpredictable.

The advertisers’ body also reassured its members that it would work closely with BARC to ascertain the time period when data becomes stable and usable for planning and buying.

The ISA Executive Council and the ISA Core Media Committee have been in active engagement with BARC Board, Technical Committee and NTO task force over the past few months to arrive at the way forward during this transition period.