Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh said on Thursday that the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) is raising television rating points (TRPs) by tampering with India’s device. He also named some channels including Republic. However, Republic TV claims that it was named in the FIR, not India Today.
The question arises that can any channel affect TRPs like this?
What is a TRP aka Television Rating Point?
TRP means television rating point. This is the way to know the popularity and audience number of any TV program. TRP shows how many people watched a show. If a show has a higher TRP, it means that people are liking that channel or that show. Advertisers know from the TRP which show to advertise in will be beneficial.
In simple terms, TRP tells how many people from which socio-economic background have been watching which channel for how long. It can be in an hour, in a day, or some time of a week.
What is the importance of TRPs for channels?
The TRP itself shows how many people are watching which channel. Which show has more popularity? Based on this, they prepare their promotional plan and give an advertisement. TRP must also be good if you want maximum advertising. Because of this, most channels give importance to TRPs. The one who is watching more people promotes it.
How are TRPs calculated?
BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) has installed the device in about 45 thousand homes, known as bar-o-meter or people meter. This meter records embedded watermarks in the show.
The Bark remote has a separate button for each member of each household. While watching the show, they have to press that button, which lets Bark know which show the family member watched for how long. On this basis, Bark explains what is the pattern of watching shows or programs in 200 million TV viewing families or what 84 crore viewers are watching and for how long.
These families are divided into 12 categories under the new Consumer Classification System (NCCS) in 2015. In this, along with the level of education of the main earning member of the family, the availability of electricity from the home to the car is the basis.
What is BARC?
BARC is an industry body jointly owned by advertisers, ad agencies and broadcasting companies. It is the joint owner of the Indian Society of Advertisers, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation and the Advertising Agency Association of India.
How is BARC data used?
Every Thursday, Bark releases its data. It divides into audience demographics – age, education, income, etc., how long people are watching a show. The advertising revenue of the channel depends on it.
This means that what the whole country is watching, it tells the devices installed on the TV of these 45 thousand families. Bark keeps these devices confidential, but allegations of molestation have been occurring before. The charges of the Mumbai Police Commissioner are the new charges in this episode.
According to FICCI and Ernst & Young reports, India’s TV industry stood at Rs 78,700 crore last year. In this too, TRP was the main criterion for advertisers to advertise.
How can TV channels affect TRP?
TV channels affect TRPs in two ways. First, if they know where the Bar-O-Meter or People Meter are installed, they motivate those families to watch their channels directly through cash or gifts. Second, they ensure that their channels are first seen by viewers through cable operators or multi-system operators.