BARC announced today that it would licence some “key technology services” from Mediametrie, including its watermarking technology for tracking household exposure to TV content.

In a statement, BARC chairman Punit Goenka said: “I am delighted at this association with Mediametrie. Our Technical Committee and the management had scouted the global marketplace for suitable technology and we are happy with our choice. We will take a quantum jump in technology for audience measurement in the country with this.”

Mediametrie wasn’t among the five companies previously shortlisted by BARC to fulfil the technical aspects of the proposed rating system, and it is unclear at this stage whether those firms are still in contention for other parts of the project.

Benoit Cassaigne, senior vice-president of Mediametrie, said “We are very happy and proud of BARC’s confidence in our solutions and expertise. We are thrilled to bring our know-how on such a TV market and share it with BARC, a company very similar to us in its DNA. We are sharing a lot already in terms of philosophy and vision and I am sure we will go far together.”

The news comes a week after the India government introduced a new regulatory framework to govern the design, implementation and delivery of TV ratings in the country. Click here for more on that story.