Google has forced Barb and Kantar Media to scrap the measurement service comparing YouTube views with other TV channels and streamers.
The tech giant has issued cease and desist letters to both companies, citing a breach of terms of service.
It comes just months after the landmark initiative was launched. The deal allowed Barb and Kantar Media to measure content from 200 YouTube channels watched on televisions, using audio recognition, similar to how linear TV and streaming services are monitored.
While the audio-matching service was the focus of the legal letter, according to the Financial Times, there is speculation that YouTube was unhappy with the service because it showed comparatively low ratings.
The first set of results, released in July last year, showed that the biggest YouTube channel for TV-viewing was Peppa Pig with just 758,000 weekly viewers. Most of the top channels were children’s content, leading to criticism that YouTube was more of a babysitting service than a real compatriot to linear TV.
Lindsey Clay, the CEO of Thinkbox, said: ‘It does seem odd that YouTube has spent so much effort trying to convince advertisers that they are TV and so gain the benefits of that reputation — but the moment there’s some TV-like scrutiny they go legal to avoid it. If they want to be treated like TV they need to be transparent.’
Others think Google may have had genuine reasons to be unhappy with the method of measurement. Graham Swallow, director of data, tech & product at Little Dot Studios, criticised Barb after its July report for only including videos published since April. He said that at least 50% of viewing comes from videos at least one year old, and therefore said Barb’s method will ‘severely underestimate viewing’.
He wrote in The Media Leader: ‘It’s a mystery to me why its measurement partner didn’t audio-fingerprint the most-viewed videos (this information is public so it wouldn’t be difficult).
‘These costly mistakes or decisions in the methodology are failing the planners who need it most and who maybe don’t have an in-depth understanding of YouTube viewing behaviour — and how this might be skewing the Barb data.’
A certain frostiness between YouTube and Barb has been apparent for some time. YouTube stopped subscribing to Barb as of 1 July 2025, just a few weeks before the publication of the first report.
From January 16, YouTube also stopped providing data to Billboard for inclusion in the US charts. That was in reaction to changes to Billboard’s chart methodology, which YouTube head of music Lyor Cohen accused of being an ‘outdated formula’.
This led media analyst Ian Whittaker to compare Google’s approach with China’s geopolitical strategy, saying the two were ‘strikingly similar’. He explained that they both look to influence institutions from inside and outside to advance its agenda, and are happy to be combative if necessary.
He said: ‘China can take a confrontational approach if its demands are not met. What has happened with Billboard (and, for example, with Barb in the UK over the measurement of YouTube channels) shows a similar tactic.’
YouTube’s viewership in the UK is still measured through Ipsos/Iris, with advertising assessed with Nielsen, AudienceProject and ISBA’s Origin, a measurement tool for advertising reach.
A spokesperson from Kantar Media said: ‘We can confirm that the measurement service is paused per Barb’s recent announcement. We will not be commenting on confidential client discussions further at this time’
A YouTube spokesperson said: ‘YouTube has a long track record of providing access to third parties for research and reporting, and all third parties must respect the necessary Terms of Service and policies when using our API. While the vast majority of our partners, companies and creators adhere to these guidelines, we will take action when these terms are violated, as was the case here.’
Barb has been approached for comment.
Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash