Campaign India Team
Oct 08, 2020

Mumbai Police takes owners of channels Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema under custody; Republic TV being investigated

Arrests being made in relation to a TRP scam

Mumbai Police takes owners of channels Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema under custody; Republic TV being investigated
Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh addressed the press earlier today and revealed that the police is looking into a 'TRP scam' where channels were tampering with BARC data to boost their ratings.
 
Owners of the channels Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema have been taken into custody while an investigation is going on about Republic TV.
 
This follows an arrest of two ex-employees of Hansa. Hansa has been working with BARC and sharing data of television channels. The arrested have been accused of going to households whose data is being shared and asking them to run channels all day even if they are outside the house, claimed Singh during the press address. He added that there have been instances where English channels were running in households that were uneducated.
 
There are 2,000 meteres installed in Mumbai and information about these households is treated as confidential information. The scam focusses on how these households were paid Rs 400-500 to watch certain channels and keep them switched on even when no one was watching.
 
In an interview with NDTV, Singh stated that complaint was filed by Hansa itself and the Mumbai Police is not taking the role of the measurers.
 
The person who has been arrested has given information about ex-colleagues at the agency who did something similar with Hansa and BARC. Two people have been arrested and will be in custody till 9 October. There are more people who are being tracked from and outside of Mumbai, informed Singh.
 
From one of the arrested people, the police has seized Rs 20 lakh from his account and a further Rs 8.5 lakhs in cash from his bank locker. 
 
According to an analytical report submitted, Republic TV has suspicious ratings. Singh added that people have admitted that they were paid to operate Republic TV and hence an investigation is currently under way.
 
Also read:
 
Source:
Campaign India

Related Articles

Just Published

2 hours ago

Rural consumption continues to outpace urban ...

The latest data from NielsenIQ indicates that rural areas have become the primary driver of consumption growth in the FMCG sector, a reversal of previous trends where urban centres led growth.

2 hours ago

Havas to offer staff up over $40 million in ...

Bosses could get extra $8 million in cash bonuses for working on separation from Vivendi, prospectus reveals.

3 hours ago

FCB/SIX India announces key senior leadership ...

Since its launch in 2023, the agency’s staff has tripled, now numbering approximately 170 team members.

4 hours ago

Trump’s victory isn’t just America’s crisis—it’s a ...

Make no mistake—2024’s US election was a calculated exercise in marketing from beginning to end, revealing a striking alignment with the very principles that drive our industry.