How is TRP rating evaluated ?

                      Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan was listed in the Limca Book of Records as the world's "most viewed mythological serial" based on the TRP ratings. Recently, during the closing ceremony of XIX Commonwealth Games, it is estimated that 82% of the Indian population viewed Doordarshan Channel.
                      We hear this word 'TRP Rating' quite often. Based on the TRP rating, advertisers sponsor the programs.

Now, what is this TRP rating and how is it calculated?

                      TRP is 'Television Rating Point'. It is a scale to calculate the popularity of a channel or the program. Earlier, DART used to be the only agency which calculated this rating point for Doordarshan programs. Now, an agency is set up which works with various organizations like Nielsen in evaluating the TRP. This agency is known as INTAM which means Indian Television Audience Measurement.

How this evaluation is the done?

                         DART used manual surveying in 33 major cities to evaluate the TRP rating. However, this method is prone to mistakes and subjectivity. Various factors like age of the viewer, gender etc are supposed to be taken into consideration while evaluating them. So, this process is almost obsolete these days.

Now, two new techniques are introduced in the last ten years.

•     People Meters
•     Picture-match technique

                        INTAM uses these two methodologies for calculating TRP. It has chosen many sample homes across the country both in rural and urban parts and has installed electronic gadgets which monitor the TV channels.

• People Meters:

                        'People meter' reads the frequencies of the channels, which are decoded into the name of the channels. This data is consolidated and the agency prepares a report on this basis. But there is a small problem here... our cable operators change the frequencies many times before sending signals to our homes. Also, the frequency of the channel we see is not same all over the nation. Moreover, with the advent of direct to home (DTH) , Dish TV, Direct Plus etc., people have started using their own satellite decoders. So, frequency recognition is a tough task and hence, this process has become complex.

• Picture-match technique:

                         In picture-match technique, instead of recording the frequency, people meter continuously records the portion of the picture or the logo of the channel that is being watched on that particular television set at that particular time. Data collected from the sample homes is later used to evaluate the channel name and the popular program nation wide.

                         Many claim that all these TRP ratings are not authentic but we should understand that there is a lot of analysis associated in this evaluation. However, these agencies are not appointed by the Government of India.. so we should not except them to be 100% reliable.