TRP scam: ED may file first chargesheet this month
The agency is investigating Republic Media Network, India Today Group, News Nation, and four entertainment channels for allegedly manipulating TRPs.
01 Mar, 2021
The Enforcement Directorate could file its first chargesheet in the TRP scam case this month, the Indian Express
reported on Monday, quoting unnamed sources. The agency is investigating the Republic Media Network, India Today Group, News Nation, and four entertainment channels for allegedly paying bribes to rig TRPs, thereby growing advertising revenues.
The chargesheet is expected to detail the alleged wrongdoings of former executives of Broadcast Audience Research Council, Hansa Research Group, and four relationship managers who allegedly helped channels manipulate TRPs.
Updated Feb 16, 2021 · 03:10 pm A file photo of former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta. | Partho Dasgupta via Twitter
Former head of the Broadcast Audience Research Council Partho Dasgupta on Monday told the Bombay High Court that the purported WhatsApp exchanges between him and Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami were mere “loose talks” and that he should not be kept in detention on the basis of the chats, reported
Bar and Bench.
Dasgupta made the submission before a bench of Justice PD Naik, which was hearing the former media executive’s bail plea. The Mumbai Police had arrested Dasgupta in connection with its investigation into the Television Ratings Point scam on December 24. The police have alleged that Goswami bribed Dasgupta with “lakhs of rupees” to ramp up Republic TV’s viewership.
NEW DELHI: While opposing the bail application of former CEO of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) Partho Dasgupta in the TRP manipulation case, the state informed the Bombay high court that Dasgupta had rigged TV ratings since 2017 in connivance with the anchor of a news channel and had also silenced an employee who had raised objections to the sudden spike in the
Ex-CEO of BARC Partho Dasgupta. File
| Photo Credit:
twitter.com/ @parthodasgupta
Partho Dasgupta was arrested from Pune on December 24, 2020, and is currently lodged in the Taloja Central Jail.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday reserved its order on a bail plea filed by Partho Dasgupta, former chief executive officer of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), who is an accused in the Television Rating Point (TRP) manipulation case.
A single bench of justice PD Naik was hearing Mr. Dasgupta’s plea filed under section 439 (special powers of High Court or Court of Session regarding bail) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It sought bail on merits as the charge sheet in the case has been filed.
TRP Scam: Times Group Sends Legal Notice to BARC, Seeks Rs 450 Cr in Damages
The notice, which follows alleged chats between Partho Dasgupta and Arnab Goswami, said BARC should also publish a statement stating that Times Now was the leader in the English news genre between 2017-2019.
Logos of BARC and Republic TV and a TV control room. Photo: Reuters Illustration: The Wire
Media15/Feb/2021
Mumbai: Media giant Times Group on Sunday said it has sent a legal notice to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), alleging the TV rating agency “deliberately reduced” its English news channel’s viewership at the behest of a rival launched in 2017 and demanded compensation of Rs 450 crore.