Times Now's response to BARC Showcause - 'Spike in Ratings not abnormal'

New Delhi: In view of the allegations levelled by Republic TV news channel against Times Now concerning TRPs, Your Channel wishes to emphatically state that the spike in ratings alleged was not abnormal.

The Real TRP facts: Times Now exposes malicious propaganda

The purported abnormalities can be linked to Landing Pages the use of which is perfectly legal. The Landing Pages provide a marketing boost and cannot be dubbed abnormal.

Here is Times Now's response to BARC Showcause:

"Spike in Ratings not Abnormal"

"As far as the spike shown in ratings on certain days in certain markets is concerned, we have already clarified the reasons for the same in our meetings. Most of the purported abnormalities can be explained by the use of Landing Pages (LP) in such markets, and considering that LPs are the major marketing boost, they cannot really be referred to be abnormal in real sense."

"Request Details About Videos"

“In our reply dated 29.11.2017, we have already clarified our position and stand on this issue in a very clear manner and we had requested for details about the videos to initiate necessary action from our side to find out the parties involved. We reiterate that these videos are highly sensitive and confidential in nature and we expect you to maintain a high amount of caution to maintain the confidentiality of the same, under any and all circumstances."

"Videos Malicious Creation"

"About the videos, we have clarified that we neither have any knowledge nor any involvement in any unscrupulous activity. In fact, this clearly points to the involvement of some malicious party/entity who is trying to spoil our reputation. In the past, we have been the victim of reduced channel share and thinking that on ground panel tampering by certain players may be the reason of the same, have shared our concerns with your agency where the ratings have shown abnormality/unprecedented spikes from time to time."