Government proposes to open TRP market, invites public feedback by Aug 1

In a bid to encourage competition, the government has proposed to remove entry barriers for companies keen to foray in the sector of television viewership measurement ecosystem.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has proposed amendments to the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies-2014 to ensure that the TRP system reflects the diverse and evolving media consumption habits of viewers across the country.

The proposed changes include the deletion of key clauses 1.5 and 1.7 that earlier restricted cross-holdings between rating agencies and broadcasters, advertisers, or advertising agencies.

The Ministry has invited feedback on the draft amendments by August 1 from viewers, broadcasters, advertisers or concerned citizens.

The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) is the only agency providing TV ratings, but it does not track connected TV device viewership, despite it being a major trend.

Currently, India has approximately 230 million television households. However, only about 58,000 people meters are used at present to capture viewership data, representing just 0.025 per cent of the total TV homes.

"This relatively limited sample size may not adequately represent the diverse viewing preferences across regions and demographics," an official statement said.

It said the existing audience measurement technology does not sufficiently capture viewership on emerging platforms such as smart TVs, streaming devices, and mobile applications, which are witnessing growing adoption among audiences.

The proposed amendments to Clause 1.4 of the Guidelines seek to introduce an easier-to-comply provision to explicitly prevent rating agencies from engaging in consultancy or advisory services that may result in a conflict of interest with their primary role.

The proposed amendments aim to allow multiple agencies to foster healthy competition, bring in new technologies, and provide more reliable and representative data especially for connected TV platforms, an official statement said.

"As viewing habits evolve, so must the way we measure them. The amendments will also enable more investments from broadcasters, advertisers, and other stakeholders to improve rating technology and infrastructure," it said.

With these reforms, India aims to build a more transparent, inclusive, and technology-driven TV rating ecosystem.

The existing policies had entry barriers that discouraged new players from entering the TV ratings sector. Cross-holding restrictions also prevented broadcasters or advertisers from investing in rating agencies.