Indian Ad Industry Says No to Regulation

Bodies representing most Indian broadcasters and advertisers have given a thumbs down to the idea of government intervention in television ratings, known as TRPs.

The parties were responding to a consultation paper put forward by the broadcast regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) in reponse to a request last December by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B). Those expressing their opposition include the Advertising Agency Association of India (AAAI), the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), plus a number of broadcasters.

AAAI said TRPs were 'a matter of interest only to broadcasters, advertising agencies and advertisers... essentially a commercial tool and guide that determines the pricing for advertising time on television and AAAI is of strong view that government's intervention is not required.'

A not-for-profit industry led body called the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has already been set up to review ratings processes, and the IBF pointed out: 'BARC is being set up to tackle the ratings business therefore there is no need to encourage competition.'

The review was in part occasioned by Ministry worries that existing panels failed to represent viewers in smaller towns and rural areas: however, ratings agency TAM (Television Audience Measurement) defended the size of its current installed base of People Meters and said the government should instead relax customs duty on the device to enable it to install more. TAM has 7,200 installed meters and says this represents the largest such panel in the world, covering 145 of the 388 towns in India.

BARC, which officially represents all stakeholders including the government broadcaster, says TRPs already represent 'a robust economic currency', and points out that it has already commissioned audience measurement research to monitor the potentially competing interests of its members. This includes a cross-sectional 'establishment survey' of television penetration, viewership habits, and viewer demographics, and a second phase gathering viewer likes and dislikes.

Those in favour of some form of regulation include Voice, The Voluntary Organisation in the Interest of Consumer Education, which fears manipulation of the statistics to influence ad prices, with a subsequent effect on the kind of programmes being made. Voice also believes the system used should be subject to a mandatory audit. Telephone company MTNL has also argued in favour of regulation given the large amounts involved and the potential for 'unscrupulous elements' to 'manipulate the industry'.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.