JioStar’s Kevin Vaz Urges Indian Government to Restore BARC Television Audience Ratings as Media Sector Hits $28.9 Billion

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“At a time of international financial unpredictability, reputable audience measurement is crucial to keeping this environment effective, supporting marketers and broadcasters, and keeping domestic financial activity moving,” Vaz stated.

He likewise pushed for a concrete roadmap to remove away the regulative load and expenses that weigh on direct broadcasting. Forbearance has actually been an enduring need from the sector, he stated, and self-regulation backed by strong market requirements must sit at the core of its next stage.

The appeal comes as the sector continues to grow. Indian media and home entertainment broadened 9% in 2025 to INR2.78 trillion ($28.9 billion), Vaz stated. Digital passed INR1.1 trillion ($11.5 billion), while live occasions leapt 47%.

Through much of its history, Vaz stated, the difficult limitation on Indian media was circulation, with too couple of channels and screens for stories to reach audiences. “Attention is the brand-new currency, and in an age where material and concepts appear limitless, the magic depend on developing something that makes the ‘thumb stop!'” he stated.

He indicated Connected television as a case where older and more recent screens are assembling instead of displacing each other. Mentioning market price quotes, Vaz put India’s CTV audience at more than 200 million audiences, with over 80% of that seeing done together with friend or family. Direct television streaming, he included, lets audiences see live channels on any screen and connection while opening brand-new choices for measurement and marketing. The 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket competition, which reached more than 1.2 billion audiences, was “maybe the clearest expression” of that merging, he stated.

Microdrama deserved INR6.5 billion ($68 million) in 2025, and the classification is anticipated to grow at more than 50% a year by 2028, Vaz stated. JioStar has actually gotten in the format through Tadka and is dealing with over 50 production homes, which he stated was assisting to bring more developers into business.

JioHotstar likewise let audiences discover and purchase items inside the app while they enjoyed the IPL and a live stream of hit “Dhurandhar The Revenge.” Vaz called content commerce a 3rd “worth swimming pool” for the market, beside marketing and memberships.

On AI, Vaz stated the innovation is improving production, storytelling, workflows, analytics and customization. “But even as innovation broadens what is possible, the human being need to stay at the center of the innovative community,” he stated. He required clear guidelines on copyright, permission, attribution and a reasonable return for developers, so that innovation and imagination progress together.

Before turning to the market’s numbers, Vaz asked the space to stop briefly in silence for the late Leena Jaisani, FICCI’s deputy secretary basic and head of media and home entertainment, who assisted discovered its Media & & Entertainment Committee.

This year’s edition, held under the style “India’s Media Moment: Creating Value in an Age of Infinite Content,” marks 26 years of the committee’s overcome FICCI Frames. Vaz nearby advising the market to evaluate itself on the worth it develops instead of on output or reach. “Did we construct copyright that could take a trip from India to the world?” he asked.