The I&B Ministry has accepted broadcast sector regulator TRAI's recommendations on guidelines for accreditation of TV rating agencies and will soon approach the union cabinet for its nod, Union Minister Manish Tewari said.
The ministry had earlier asked the regulator to provide its guidelines on the issue, after which TRAI had in September released its recommendations including a condition that they be notified within two months.
TRAI had also laid down that the minimum number of homes that a rating agencies should measure should be 20,000 within six months of the guidelines coming into force, after which the number should be increased by 10,000 every year to reach 50,000.
"We have accepted the recommendations of TRAI. We have circulated a cabinet note already," Tewari told reporters here".
He said most recommendations had been more or less accepted. "Once we have the cabinet approval, we will notify the guidelines," he added.
The TV audience measurement mechanism has been a subject of controversy in the past with many channels expressing dissatisfaction with TAM ratings.
Tewari was asked whether the I&B ministry was planning to bring a PRB Bill. He said the proposed amendments to the Act were ready and had been put on the website and stakeholders' had sought fresh consultations on issues including on 'paid news', which had been slated for Tuesday.
He said the ministry would take a further decision after the consultations.
