Govt extends TRP freeze on TV news channels by four weeks again
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has once again extended its direction to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to withhold television rating points (TRPs) for news channels by another four weeks, an official aware of the matter said on Wednesday. The first order was issued on March 6, 2026, when the government initially paused TRP reporting for four weeks. (Representative photo) This is the third such directive. The first order was issued on March 6, 2026, when the government initially paused TRP reporting for four weeks. The ministry, in an order dated March 31, asked BARC to continue suspending the publication of TRPs “for a further period of four (4) weeks or until further directions, whichever is earlier.” An official told HT that the ministry has now sent a fresh letter dated May 6 to BARC, extending the freeze for another four weeks. The letter does not specifically cite the ongoing West Asia conflict as the reason, as the previous letters had. However, an I&B ministry official said the extension is due to …
