The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has advocated for the establishment of multiple rating agencies to foster healthy competition, with the government playing a “proactive role” in the process. The suggestion has been made by the regulatory body in its ‘inputs for the formulation of the National Broadcasting Policy’ issued on Thursday.
Expressing its views on the matter, TRAI has said that the government should play a proactive role to facilitate the establishment of multiple audience measurement agencies. “Offering subsidies and launching schemes could serve as incentives for the formation and sustenance of these agencies. Government support is crucial in creating an ecosystem where diverse entities can thrive, fostering healthy competition and ultimately enhancing the accuracy and reliability of television audience measurement in India,” TRAI mentioned.
The authority recommended revamping the existing audience measurement system in India to establish a transparent and credible rating system for television, radio, and OTT broadcasting services. It emphasized expanding the sample size to better represent diverse landscapes and adoption of Return Path Data (RPD) and other advanced technologies to enhance the accuracy of data. TRAI also recommended creating a framework for disclosure of viewership data by OTT broadcasting service providers in a transparent manner for the purpose of audience measurements.
While expressing its views, TRAI has also shared various stakeholder comments on the multiple ratings agencies.
According to TRAI, stakeholders have mixed views on the matter. One of the stakeholders supported it and stated that having multiple rating agencies fosters competition and innovation. It provided an example that countries like the UK, USA, Malaysia, Australia and Philippines have at least two concurrent rating systems. Another stakeholder, in support of multiple agencies, opined that multiple agencies bring in competition, new technologies, research methodologies and enhance better quality. One of the stakeholders, who opposed the idea, expressed that multiple agencies may lead to conflict in data due to divergent choices in sample selection and variances in parameters to be measured.
On the stakeholder comments, TRAI expressed its views and said that the entry of multiple agencies not only introduces competition but also has the potential to enhance the quality of service and reduce costs. Competition acts as a catalyst for innovation, pushing to adopt new technologies, research methodologies, and analytical methods. Moreover, the competitive environment serves as a natural deterrent against any attempt of manipulation in ratings. With multiple agencies competing for accuracy and credibility, any attempt to manipulate ratings becomes more easily detectable.
TRAI also shared the comments submitted by the stakeholders, suggesting measures such as adoption of anonymization of data, RPD, transparent outlier policy and avoiding of data smoothening. The stakeholders have also suggested structural changes at BARC, equal participation of all stakeholders, real-time data measurement and audit for rating agencies. Further, the stakeholders have also highlighted that audience measurement needs to be made robust, transparent, accountable and that there should be light-touch regulation with simple registration.
TRAI said that some views were that the Data Protection Officer (DPO), by virtue of its relationship with customers, should be allowed to gather insights and share with interested stakeholders. Regulator/MIB should prescribe a guidance-based approach for DPOs.
To establish a process for accrediting or empanelling rating agencies for audience measurement, stakeholders have also stated the need to develop model governance standards/voluntary codes of practices for rating agencies to ensure fairness, neutrality and transparency. Further, they have prescribed standards for publishing data to ensure it is made available to all value chain stakeholders in a transparent manner and create a mechanism for auditing compliance.
According to TRAI, stakeholders have largely supported the need for expansion of sample size for television viewership. TRAI said that one of the stakeholders stated that at least 1 lakh Bar-o-Meters are required, especially for news channels. It also stated that large sample size addresses the problem of panel tampering and RPD is effective for larger sample size.
While another stakeholder submitted that increasing sample size would refine measurement and rating system although cost will be a hindrance, and innovation and R&D will be required. Some stakeholders suggested that larger sample size aids in getting viewership for niche channels/HD channels and increases variety in audience measurement.
Expressing its views on the issue, TRAI said the current scenario reveals that BARC India is operating with a panel size of only 55,000 households. A smaller panel size inherently limits the scope of data available for analysis.
“Conversely, a larger panel size not only improves the robustness of the system but also adds substantial weight and value to measurement ratings. Therefore, the Authority is of the view that having a larger panel size has its own benefits for audience measurement. Expanding panel size and embracing advanced technologies is crucial for ensuring a more credible audience measurement,” said TRAI.
As per TRAI, stakeholders had divergent views when asked to provide their comments on integrating non-linear data. TRAI mentioned that one of the stakeholders, who favoured that non-linear data should also be integrated, has stated that the government should incentivize innovation and allow hybrid measurement across platforms. Another stakeholder commented that an accurate and unified audience viewership metrics will lead to better revenue monetization for content across both offline and online platforms.
Meanwhile, stakeholders who opposed the integration of non-linear data submitted that methods like Monthly Active Users (MAU), Cost Per Minute (CPM), Cost Per View (CPV) or Cost Per Completed View (CPCV) already exist for OTT platforms and hence there is no requirement to integrate nonlinear data separately. Another stakeholder stated that TV audience measurement should not be fused with digital audience measurement.
On the adoption of modern technologies, TRAI shared that some of the stakeholders proposed that RPD, AI and Predictive audience may be used for analysis. While others commented that apart from RPD, Embedded SIM, Narrowband IoT, QR Code, Android STB may also be used for audience measurement purposes.
In furtherance to television, TRAI also highlighted that OTT broadcasting service providers have also become significant players in the media landscape, offering diverse content to millions of viewers. However, their viewership data remains largely opaque. The authority is of the view that a standardized framework should be established to ensure transparency by requiring OTT platforms to disclose relevant metrics such as active users, time spent per user, popular content and others.
“This transparency would benefit advertisers in making informed decisions. Access to viewership data allows one to understand consumption patterns, identify trends and assess the impact of content. With a disclosure framework, it would be helpful to address inconsistencies in viewership details and promote fair competition,” said TRAI.
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