Google sends legal notice to Barb and Kantar Media; says: You do not know how to measure YouTube's …

Google has reportedly forced UK television measurement groups Barb and Kantar Media to suspend a new service. This service, launched last year, compared YouTube channel viewership with that of other TV channels and streamers. The Google-owned streaming giant cited a breach of its terms of service to issue a legal notice suspending the service, a report claims. According to a report by The Financial Times (FT), YouTube sent a legal "cease and desist" letter to Kantar Media over the new measurement service just months after its launch in 2025. This legal notice has prevented Barb and Kantar Media from accessing YouTube’s data that helped them analyse viewing sessions for specific content creators.

This move effectively halted the initiative, which aimed to measure YouTube content watched on TVs using the same methodology used for linear television and streaming services. The report cited sources familiar with the matter to claim that Google said the service doesn't know how to measure YouTube viewership correctly. However, the legal action focused on violations of the streaming service’s terms governing the use of creator content, resulting in the service's suspension.

What made YouTube send a legal notice to stop the TV streaming measurement service

The initial press release announcing the service showed that YouTube's biggest channel for TV viewers was Peppa Pig. However, this attracted only 758,000 viewers during the week measured, which was 1.2% of all people aged 4+ who watched for at least 3 consecutive minutes. MrBeast, another popular creator, attracted just 319,000 viewers during the week, which was 0.5% of the available audience.

YouTube said it had 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 [application programming interface].”

The company added that where any actions on the platform do not adhere to its terms, YouTube “must act quickly and consistently to protect its ecosystem, including the rights of creators.”

Ipsos/Iris also measures YouTube's viewership in the UK, and advertising is assessed by Nielsen, AudienceProject, and ISBA's Origin, a measurement tool for advertising reach.

Since 2021, Barb has reported how people watch content distributed by TV companies on YouTube, as well as how many people watch YouTube on TV sets. That data is based on viewing on TVs at home via a Wi-Fi router.

However, Barb, which obtains its data from panels of audiences with meters on their TV sets, said last year that 200 YouTube channels would also be included in its daily audience reporting. The selection process categorised channels by content creator type.

Kantar Media used automated audio-matching content recognition to identify the channels watched by Barb panel members on TV sets, in a similar way to how it monitors viewing on TV channels and streamers. It was this audio-matching service, which used Google's content creator APIs, that was the focus of the legal letter.


The dispute comes at a time of tensions between the TV industry and tech-led platforms that are increasingly attracting many viewers, especially among younger audiences. Barb and Kantar Media's service had attempted to compare platforms and channels using the same methods.

UK regulators such as Ofcom are also taking a greater interest in internet and social media platforms as they assess whether their rules concerning TV and media are fit for purpose.

Kantar Media confirmed the "measurement service is paused" but declined to comment further on "confidential client discussions". Meanwhile, Barb refused to comment on the service’s suspension.

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