1.     The Mumbai Police recently announced that they had unearthed a scam related to manipulation of Television Rating Points by certain TV channels and also made a couple of arrests. Since then, this news has been garnering a lot of eye balls and is being bitterly contested by Republic News Channel which has, since inception in 2017,been consistently topping viewership charts that are released every Thursday by the industry body Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). Therefore, let us understand what are TRP’s, who measures TRPs, how are they measured and why are TRPs so important?

What is TRP?

2.     TRP stands for Television Rating Points. TRPis an overall estimate of the number of people, across various socio-economic categories and regions and geographies, who watch a particular channel for how much time during a specific period. BARC releases the weekly viewership rankings on its web site https://www.barcindia.co.in for channels on the basis of this data. This data is what the channels then take to the advertisers. Therefore, the competition or fight between channels is over garnering more TRPs, which can be shown to advertisers. Thus, channels with a better TRP, invariably, stand better chances of getting the lions share of advertisements.

Why are TRPs Important?

3. It’s a simple equation -Higher the TRPs = higher the visibility = higher the advertisement budgets of companies =higher the revenue for broadcasters. In the cut-throat world of privately owned TV channels, TRPs validate your popularity but more importantly, it translates into more revenue because companies decide to allocate their advertising budgets on the basis of which TV channel has higher TRPs. An average user only pays Rs 2 for a news channel. Can you expect the number of news reports we see on these channels just for Rs 2? Well, for making up for the expenses these channels need advertisers and advertisers just care about the number of views a channel gets. Indian audience likes to know about celebrities and their lives, that’s why channels focus so much on them. In short, we are responsible for the content we see on these channels as the content makers only provide the things we demand from them. The scenario is also similar in the content we see on the internet. Pages on social media and websites post the things their audience likes to read and share. By this, they get more views and earn more money.

Who Calculates TRPs?

4.        In India there are many television rating agencies which calculate TRPs viz TAM, Indian National Television Audience Measurement (INTAM), Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) and Doordarshan Audience Research Team (DART), which solely focuses on rural areas. TAM is owned by IMRBa market research, survey and business consultancy firm, while INTAM is owned by ORG-MARG. BARC, India is a joint industry body founded by stakeholder bodies that represent Broadcasters (IBF), Advertisers (ISA) and Advertising & Media Agencies (AAAI). It is also the world’s largest television measurement science industry-body.

How is TRP Calculated?

5.        These are a few methods by which TRPs are calculated using electronic devices:

(a)   People’s Meters: Some agencies use a ‘People’s Meter’, which is a gadget attached to the television in the households of the sample size being surveyed. This device records the time and the program that the viewer watches on a particular day. After that an average is taken on a weekly basis to know the viewership status. The recorded information is then analysed by the agency which then puts out the data in TRP terms. •        The People Meter is a 'box', about the size of a paperback book. The box is hooked up to each television set and is accompanied by a remote control unit. Each family member in a sample household is assigned a personal 'viewing button'. It identifies each household member's age and sex. If the TV is turned on and the viewer doesn't identify themselves, the meter flashes to remind them. Additional buttons on the People Meter enable guests to participate in the sample by recording their age, sex and viewing status into the system.

(b)   Picture Matching: A relatively new and more reliable technique for calculating TRPs in India is Picture Matching, in which the People’s Meter continuously records a small portion of the picture that is watched on a particular television set. This data is collected from the sample homes and used to calculate the TRPs on a national scale.

(c)   Audio Watermark: Audio Watermarking embeds audio watermarks in video content prior to upload and broadcast. These watermarks are not heard by the human ear but can be detected and decoded when it is broadcast to derive viewership data.

What is the Sample Size for TRP Data?

6.        According to a recent report, BARC’s current sample size is 44,000. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had recommended that the agency’s sample size be increased to 60,000 by the end of 2020 and to 100,000 by the end of 2022.

7.        There are two sample frames which record the viewership. The first sample frame is a frame of households and the second frame is a frame for eateries supporting out of home OOH measurements. There is not much information available in the open domain regarding the modalities which decide eligibility for selection of households/ eateries. However, the New Consumer Classification System (NCCS) Assignment Process (NCCS) is a means of socio-economically classifying consumers in India. The NCCS classification of a household is based on two main variables: -

(a)   Education of the household’s Chief Wage Earner (CWE), defined as the person who contributes the most to the payment of household expenses and

(b)   The ownership within the household of 11 specific durable goods viz Electricity connection, Ceiling fan, LPG stove, Two-wheeler, Colour TV, Refrigerator, Washing machine, Personal computer / Laptop, Car, Jeep, or Van, Air conditioner, and Agricultural land. Based upon these two variables, households are assigned an NCCS grade ranging from A1, being the highest, to E3, being the lowest.

8.        The TRAI has acknowledged that the issue of paying incentives are provided to people in panel homes for watching a particular channel which affect ratings. Since TRP ratings directly affect advertising revenues all broadcasters try to scrupulously and unscrupulously get a higher TRP ratings. This is what this hulla bulla is all about.