TRP report provided a roadmap to Information and Broadcasting ministry: Soni

NEW DELHI - Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni on Monday said that the Television Rating Point (TRP) report provided a roadmap to the ministry on how to review the TRP system in the country

Complimenting the work of the Committee, Soni said it had reviewed the entire TRP mechanism exhaustively, looking into different parameters associated with the issue.

Earlier, the Committee set up by the Ministry to review the TRP measurement in India submitted its report to Ambika Soni here.

The report was submitted by Chairperson, Dr. Amit Mitra, Secretary General, FICCI, alongwith Neerja Choudhary and Rajiv Mehrotra.

The system of generation of Television Rating Points has come under the close scrutiny of the government following reports about several lacunae in the present rating system in India.

Since TRPs have a major impact on the programming content of television channels, issues of accountability, transparency and objectivity in television rating system assume greater significance as false and misleading rating can hurt not only broadcasters and the advertisers but more importantly the viewing public.

Though TRPs are generated in India in the domain of the private sector, Government is aware of the importance of TRPs on the programming content on television channels and the responsibility, therefore, to examine the issues concerning generation of TRPs.

The ministry had requested the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to offer their recommendations concerning TRPs.

In its recommendations, the TRAI had suggested self regulation of TRPs through an Industry led body i.e. Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), with Government oversight.

Since BARC was not operationalised by the Industry within the time frame as suggested by TRAI, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting constituted an Independent committee on May 5, 2010 to examine several crucial issues concerning TRPs in India. (ANI)