TRAI suggests introduction of more ratings agencies to encourage healthy competition

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has expressed concerns about the sole reliance of the television industry and stakeholders on the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) for ratings. TRAI has shared this concern in a consultation paper (CP) on the formulation of National Broadcast Policy released on April 2, 2024. Reviewing the structure of audience measurement and rating system is one of the issues under consultation in the policy.

In the paper, TRAI has suggested that introducing more rating agencies could promote competition, enhance service quality and potentially reduce costs. The consultation paper states that BARC being the sole provider of rating services in India raises concerns about market behaviour, service quality and cost inefficiencies, and highlights the need for additional players to encourage healthy competition.

“Introducing more agencies not only fosters competition but also has the potential to improve service quality and reduce costs, as dependency on a single agency often lacks the drive to innovate and adapt to industry demands. Competition acts as a catalyst for innovation, prompting BARC and other entities to adopt new technologies and methodologies, ensuring continuous evolution in line with media landscape changes,” read the paper. 

Additionally, a competitive environment acts as a natural deterrent against rating manipulation, as multiple agencies vie for accuracy and credibility, the paper further mentioned. According to the CP, independence from industry stakeholders is crucial for ensuring a neutral and unbiased approach to audience measurement. When measurement agencies are free from industry affiliations or influences, the process remains objective, transparent, and untainted by external pressures, enhancing credibility and trustworthiness.

Moreover, TRAI added that in the current scenario, BARC India is operating with a panel size of only 55,000 households. However, this sample size falls short of accurately representing the vast landscape of 182 million TV households in the country with diverse viewing preferences. 

“With TV households expected to reach 202 million by 2026, the existing panel size is poised to become even more inadequate. Therefore, there's a need to establish a roadmap for incrementally expanding the sample size to meet the evolving landscape of television viewership,” said TRAI.

Furthermore, TRAI highlighted that traditional audience measurement methods face challenges in accurately capturing the complexities of viewer behaviour in today's diverse media landscape.

To address this issue, the integration of modern technologies such as Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Wearable meters could be explored, it stated.

“Return Path Data (RPD) can also be used as a transformative tool, offering real-time insights into viewer interactions with content, empowering broadcasters and advertisers to adjust strategies promptly. Big data AI-driven algorithms may analyse vast datasets in real-time, refining the accuracy of audience measurement and empowering stakeholders with actionable insights. Moreover, there are digital set top boxes which have hardware and software that makes them two-way, that is, they have a return path. The return path data may be used for audience measurements through such set top boxes.”

On the Radio Audience Measurement System, TRAI said continuance with an inadequate radio rating system is likely to hamper the growth of radio industry as financial decisions are largely influenced by radio ratings. Presently there is no framework for conducting radio audience measurement in India. 

TRAI emphasized that advertising revenue is the primary source of income for the radio segment. The revenue generated from advertisements in the radio broadcasting sector relies on factors such as the duration of advertisements and the rates per unit of time. These factors, in turn, are influenced by the number and demographic profile of radio listeners. 

“There is a need for radio audience measurement data which can be used to assess the popularity of a channel or a program for the advertisers and advertising agencies. This will assist them in selecting the right channel or program at the right time to reach the target listeners. Further, it will also help the radio channels in improving their programs (both quality and content variety) for attracting more listeners,” said TRAI.