Police have found evidence that TRP was being manipulated by bribing audiences in certain households, who were asked to switch on a particular channel to artificially increase its ratings.
A minor variation in TRP leads to a difference in hundreds of crores of revenue, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh said. (Photo for representation: India Today)
Many people suspected it. Now, Mumbai Police has confirmed it; that some people with vested interests manipulate TRP for pecuniary gain. Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh said on Thursday that the Crime Intelligence Unit of the Crime Branch has busted a TRP fraud racket.
The Mumbai police commissioner said two TV channel heads have been arrested and investigation against Republic TV is underway for its suspicious link in the TRP fraud.
He said the police have found evidence that TRP was being manipulated by bribing audiences in certain households, who were asked to switch on a particular channel to artificially increase its ratings. The police commissioner said a minor variation in TRP leads to a difference in hundreds of crores of revenue.
So, what is TRP?
TRP stands for Television Rating Points, which is a TV audience density measurement tool. It is used to measure the viewership of TV programmes and TV channels. It is the primary index that gives an idea about the reach of a TV channel or programme. This, in turn, becomes the basis for advertisers to customise their advertising platforms on TV channels and TV programmes.
How is TRP measured?
TRP is measured through devices that are installed in certain households. The device is called People’s Meter, which is connected to TV sets. People’s Meter records the duration for which different TV channels or TV programmes are watched.
The device records the time, channel and the programme viewers watch in a day. The data for a seven-day period is released by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). The BARC releases weekly TRP results on every Thursday ranking all TV channels and TV programmes.
Why does it matter?
TRP plays the deciding role in a TV channel’s revenue. If a TV channel gets higher TRP, the advertisers queue up paying more money to get screen space on that particular channel. The TV channels that lose TRP also lose their revenue.