Panel calls for revamp of TV rating system

If you ever wondered why your least favourite TV programmes manage to get high TRPs (television rating points) while your favourite channels are buried, you will be glad to hear that the government is seized of the matter.

Taking a dim view of the small sample size used by the two existing TV rating agencies in India, a committee set up by the information and broadcasting ministry has called for a greater sample size in deciding TRPs, which are used to gauge a programme's popularity (and thus the ads that it attracts).

The committee, which submitted its report to information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni today, has recommended increasing the sample size from the present 8,000 homes to 30,000 in both rural and urban areas. It felt that rural areas have been ignored in the current system of TRP measurement.

Soni told the media that the system of calculating TRPs is not accurate and the current sample size for calculating TRPs through set-top boxes needs to be increased.

The main culprit seems to be the so-called reality shows - In the monsoon session of Parliament, there was a filed complaint about the kind of content that was being shown on many of the entertainment channels. The MPs felt that in the name of reality television, channels were crossing the boundaries of good taste.

Broadcasters on their part contended that they were doing what they thought would best interest viewers. The MPs thought this was a race for TRPs. Therefore the information and broadcasting ministry commissioned the study, which it will ''look at'', according to Soni.