Indian Readership Survey Revival Gathers Pace

Indian media research body MRUCI has given further details of its progress in reviving the Indian Readership Survey (IRS), which promises the country a unified cross-media currency; and has appointed research firm Inteliphyle to manage the study, and the separate fieldwork firms involved.

According to reports in the Indian digital press, the organisation's flagship readership survey will return after six years with a new methodology, will include digital audience measurement and may feature a media quality metric.

Changes are aimed at making the survey more representative without losing its 'rigorous' approach. They include a 'rationalised' sample size and improved representation for affluent and super-affluent households. Digital media including apps, e-papers, web sites and online editions will join the traditional media stats in a single framework to produce 'India's largest single-source, cross-media measurement system.'

The proposed Media Quality and Impact Metric, under discussion by MRUCI's Technical Committee and building on initial work by Inteliphyle, aims to go beyond mere reach and explore areas like trust and attention, adding to the understanding of media effectiveness.

After a small pilot exercise, the new study will be implemented in the country's metro markets first, with a roll-out to other markets following.

MRUCI Chairman Vikram Sakhuja (pictured), who is Partner and Director of Madison World, comments: 'Our reimagined IRS is going to look not only at Media penetration but also its impact... and I am confident that the Industry will embrace it as a currency.'

In September, DRNO reported on stories that India's Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), which measures print media sales in the country, was in talks with the country's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) about adding digital media measurement to its own survey, potentially creating two rival or complementary studies where none has existed since 2020.

Web sites: www.mruc.net and https://inteliphyle.com .