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Leading Indian streamer JioStar’s Kevin Vaz has called on India’s government to immediately restore BARC audience ratings, using the inaugural address at the FICCI-Frames conference to warn that the data gap is leaving
broadcasters, advertisers and agencies without dependable numbers heading into the festive season.
Vaz is the CEO of entertainment at JioStar and chair of the FICCI Media & Entertainment Committee. He thanked India’s Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for scrapping the 10+2 advertising cap, describing the move as a step toward rules that fit how linear TV and the wider media business now operate.
The ministry first ordered BARC to stop publishing news channel ratings on March 6, citing sensationalist coverage of the Israel-Iran conflict, and extended that pause several times. In early July, it widened the freeze to all genres until BARC secures registration under the Television Ratings Policy 2026, which took effect in March. BARC applied on April 29 and has expanded its panel to 70,876 homes against the policy’s 80,000-home target, but ratings remain suspended.
“At a time of global economic uncertainty, reliable audience measurement is critical to keeping this ecosystem efficient, supporting advertisers and broadcasters, and keeping domestic economic activity moving,” Vaz said.
He also pressed for a concrete roadmap to strip away the regulatory load and costs that weigh on linear broadcasting. Forbearance has been a long-standing demand from the sector, he said, and self-regulation backed by solid industry standards should sit at the core of its next phase.
The appeal comes as the sector continues to grow. Indian media and entertainment expanded 9% in 2025 to INR2.78 trillion ($28.9 billion), Vaz said. Digital passed INR1.1 trillion ($11.5 billion), while live events jumped 47%.
Through much of its history, Vaz said, the hard limit on Indian media was distribution, with too few channels and screens for stories to reach viewers. “Attention is the new currency, and in an era where content and ideas seem endless, the magic lies in creating something that makes the ‘thumb stop!'” he said.
He pointed to Connected TV as a case where older and newer screens are converging rather than displacing each other. Citing industry estimates, Vaz put India’s CTV audience at more than 200 million viewers, with over 80% of that viewing done together with family or friends. Linear TV streaming, he added, lets viewers watch live channels on any screen and connection while opening up new options for measurement and advertising. The 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament, which reached more than 1.2 billion viewers, was “perhaps the clearest expression” of that convergence, he said.
Microdrama was worth INR6.5 billion ($68 million) in 2025, and the category is expected to grow at more than 50% a year by 2028, Vaz said. JioStar has entered the format through Tadka and is working with over 50 production houses, which he said was helping to bring more creators into the business.
JioHotstar also let viewers find and buy products inside the app while they watched the IPL and a live stream of blockbuster “Dhurandhar The Revenge.” Vaz called content commerce a third “value pool” for the industry, next to advertising and subscriptions.
On AI, Vaz said the technology is reshaping production, storytelling, workflows, analytics and personalization. “But even as technology expands what is possible, the human being must remain at the center of the creative ecosystem,” he said. He called for clear rules on copyright, consent, attribution and a fair return for creators, so that technology and creativity move forward together.
Before turning to the industry’s numbers, Vaz asked the room to pause in silence for the late Leena Jaisani, FICCI’s deputy secretary general and head of media and entertainment, who helped found its Media & Entertainment Committee.
This year’s edition, held under the theme “India’s Media Moment: Creating Value in an Age of Infinite Content,” marks 26 years of the committee’s work through FICCI Frames. Vaz closed by urging the industry to judge itself on the value it creates rather than on output or reach. “Did we build intellectual property that could travel from India to the world?” he asked.
