TRP: 'Outdated' rating system needs to be 'updated'!

Oriselio was a radio broadcaster named Pantado. In Sao Paulo, Brazil, he ran a radio station called Cosmos. It was the year 19. To find out what the audience liked, Pantado thought of studying research methodology. He learned the public opinion method from George Gallup, a pioneer American survey researcher.

Pantado launched the Realtime Audience Measurement Service after learning basic techniques on how to capture the minds of the entire population based on samples. For the first time, Pentado began to tell based on its service what people hear on the radio by collecting real-time data from audiences. It also gathered information about the age, gender, etc. of the audience.

The service was the world's first audience measurement service. The media has changed a lot since then, but much of the technique used to determine the audience's real-time data and moods has relied heavily on Pantado's public opinion service. Pantodo's method was further attributed to the survey sampling by American researcher George Gallup. George's technique is followed in the basics of today's public opinion polls.

In the 19th century, a box called People Meter was used to determine the number of television audiences. Box for sample survey attached to designated television set. The first People Box was invented by the British company Audits of Great Britain and provided frequency based data.

Dr. Gerald Cohen drew attention to the barrier of audio-video in this box by preparing a research paper. He argued that the quality of audio in this technique was not as good as it should have been. After his presentation at the American consumer research company Nestln, more research was done on the stong meter.

Nelson began collecting audience data on the basis of the Portable People Meter (PPM) from November 19. This meter was claimed to work with greater precision. The box seemed to be very useful in collecting radio and television data.

That's where the TRP game started. Orissalio Pantado's method was the foundation of TRP. When the People's Meter came along, it finally became a building called TRP and with that came the struggle to take control of TRP.

Target Rating Points - TRP is actually a survey method. Monitors the mood of the audience by monitoring the sample. It is not possible to say exactly whether everyone is watching the same program or the same channel, but it can be estimated that they are watching. Originally, after the rise of the advertising world, there was a need for some method to find out who has how many audiences. As a result, various consumer research agencies came to the market and started providing TRP data. The advertising party wants to know which channel is the most watched. The statistics of the agencies were looked at in order to know the simple math that if you get an advertisement in that channel, you will get feedback. Gradually, the agency's data became the main game.

There are two main methods of TRP. The device is mounted on thousands of designated TV sets and the device collects data by recording programs. Based on the data, the rating agency discloses which programs were viewed. The device also collects data, including the age of family members who are part of the sampling. This is one way.

Another way is the picture matching technique. It records a small portion of the device program. Based on that code, the program that was viewed at that time is analyzed. It also records data on the channel the viewer stays on for more than a minute. That’s a relatively simple way. The cost of the device is also low so the method is prevalent in most countries. Neither is accurate. Both have pluses and minuses.

There are allegations that the TRP is being disrupted by taking advantage of its minus points. In several countries, it has been alleged that owners of television sets that have a TRP box are instructed to watch a particular channel. In return they get gifts. Complaints of tampering with TRP samples to influence marketing and advertising agencies have been raised in India in the past. TV channels are likely to tamper with TRP in two ways. If the channel finds out which home the device is found in, it affects the family in one way or another. Another way is cable operators.

Picture matching is said to occur when the cable operator changes the frequency. Cable operators change priority depending on which channel appears before or after.

A few years back, a channel like NDTV had alleged that the network of cable operators was being used for or against the TRP. The issue of viewership of channels is tricky. Despite all this technology, it is still surprising that viewership is still determined on the basis of samples.

In India, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) oversees television measurement. Founded in 2010, the organization claims to be the world's largest television audience measurement service and conducts viewership surveys using modern techniques. It is estimated that there are 25 million television viewers in the country. It collects data from a bark barometer and presents a report to gauge the mood of the viewer. Bark has installed the device in about 40,000 homes. Based on this, the viewer pattern of 200 million people is being monitored. In 2012, these families were divided into 12 categories under the consumer classification system. This included categories ranging from education to age group.

The issue of data security was also raised some time ago. The agency's employees, who were awarded the contract by Barclays, were accused of misusing the data. India's television industry is estimated at Rs 5,000 crore. The responsibility of the TRP agency becomes even more important when there is such a large industry.

Since the Mumbai Police has launched an investigation against three channels on the issue of fake TRP, the TRP system has again become a topic of discussion. Audiences around the world, not just in India, have questioned the practicality of this method of measurement. Many channels around the world have filed official complaints that the TRP is in turmoil. There is a game going on in the minds of the viewers all over the world by setting priorities in one way or another and making the channel up. Sometimes the internal competition of the channels also raises questions against the TRP system, so often the complaint also has breath.

Much has changed since the system began three decades ago and today. This was the era of cable television, which then expanded to DTH. In fact, the OTT platform is now replacing television. The serials and news programs that were seen on TV have been seen on the OTT platform.

Views data is readily available on the OTT platform. The simple math of view statistics is much easier than getting stuck in the analysis of TRP and GRP. In this case the old-fashioned method of measuring TRP is simply loose! If this happens then the credibility of the viewership will increase. If viewership is based on merit, then people will also trust the TRP system.

If the method of TRP analysis is to be made reliable, it has to be evaluated in a new way. With the new method; The mood of the new audience has to be discerned, only then can accurate moods be known. Otherwise the influx will merge into other streams like OTT, where the viewership figure is more important than the TRP issue. The figure, however, can be purchased! That way crows are and will be black everywhere!