Press Information Bureau

Television viewing habits in India have undergone a significant transformation in recent years. Audiences now consume content not only through cable and DTH platforms but also via smart TVs, mobile applications, and other online streaming platforms. However, the existing system for measuring viewership, Television Rating Points (TRP), does not fully capture these evolving patterns.

In view of this, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has proposed amendments to the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies, originally issued in 2014. The proposed draft, released on July 2, 2025, removes some restrictive provisions for media houses to allow more players besides the current BARC to democratise & modernise the television audience measurement ecosystem in India.

The Ministry has invited feedback from stakeholders and the general public within 30 days of the issuance of the draft. The proposed reforms aim to enable fair competition, generate more accurate and representative data, and ensure that the TRP system reflects the diverse and evolving media consumption habits of viewers across the country.

Need for a More Representative and Modern TRP System

India currently has approximately 230 million television households. However, only about 58,000 people meters are presently used to capture viewership data, representing just 0.025% of the total TV homes. This relatively limited sample size may not adequately represent the diverse viewing preferences across regions and demographics.

Moreover, the existing audience measurement technology does not sufficiently capture viewership on emerging platforms such as smart TVs, streaming devices, and mobile applications, which are witnessing growing adoption among audiences. This gap between evolving viewing patterns and the current measurement framework can affect the accuracy of ratings, which in turn may influence revenue planning for broadcasters and advertising strategies for brands.

Recognising these developments, there is a need to strengthen the television rating system to better reflect contemporary content consumption habits in a dynamic media environment.

Issues with the Current TRP System

1. BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) is currently the only agency providing TV ratings.
2. It does not track connected TV device viewership, despite it being a major trend.
3. Existing policies had entry barriers that discouraged new players from entering the TV ratings sector.
4. Cross-holding restrictions prevented broadcasters or advertisers from investing in rating agencies

What Is Being Proposed

To fix these problems, the Ministry has drafted key amendments to the existing guidelines:

• Modification of Clause 1.4 by replacing the earlier requirement that a company’s Memorandum of Association (MoA) shall not include any activity like consultancy or advisory services, with an easier-to-comply provision stating that “The company shall not undertake any activity like consultancy or any such advisory role, which would lead to a potential conflict of interest with its main objective of rating.”
• Remove restrictive clauses (1.5 and 1.7) that were acting as barriers to entry.

The proposed amendments aim to allow multiple agencies to foster healthy competition, bring in new technologies, and provide more reliable and representative data especially for connected TV platforms. As viewing habits evolve, so must the way we measure them. The amendments will also enable more investments from broadcasters, advertisers, and other stakeholders to improve rating technology and infrastructure. With these reforms, India aims to build a more transparent, inclusive, and technology-driven TV rating ecosystem.

Share Your Feedback

If you are a viewer, broadcaster, advertiser or a concerned citizen, you can send your feedback within end of this month of the release of the notice to sobpl-moib@nic.in.

For official draft amendments and policy guidelines, visit https://mib.gov.in/sites/default/files/2025-07/notice-seeking-comments-on-trp_0.pdf

Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies in India (2014) may be accessed at: https://mib.gov.in/sites/default/files/2025-07/policy-guidelines-for-television-rating-agencies-in-india-dt-16.01.2014-1.pdf
 

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Dharmendra Tewari/ Navin Sreejith