End of the TRP era? Channels plan new TV ratings calculator

If everything goes according to plan of the Indian broadcasting foundation, the present system of calculating television rating points (TRPs) might be replaced by a broader viewership data.

Presently, TRPs are the only way to gauge the popularity of a channel. In the new system, data will be drawn from a bigger sample size and numerous categories which would more accurately represent the size ofIndian TV audience .

The broadcasting foundation, which is an umbrella body of broadcasters, had informed information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari that it was likely to come out with a broader viewership data by March 2014.

Not willing to leave the matter entirely in the hands of private broadcasters over this issue which dictates their contents and overall presentation, the ministry has asked the telecom regulatory authority of India ( TRAI) to recommend comprehensive guidelines for TRP rating agencies with TRAI acting as the accrediting agency.

Tewari's predecessor Ambika Soni had also taken up the matter with broadcasters and expressed her displeasure over slow pace of progress by the broadcast audience research council (BARC) for bringing in a more transparent and reliable TRP rating mechanism.

The present sample is dominated by urban centres and public broadcasters like Doordarshan have said the BARC was discriminatory against them.