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TRP guidelines to go through multiple rounds of consultation: Ashwini Vaishnaw
Apart from TRP reforms, the government also plans to remove the regulatory overhang in the radio industry.
The ministry is also exploring ways to improve the television rating system to ensure fair revenue to television channels from government advertisements.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is drawing up new guidelines for television rating agencies, and more than one round of industry consultation is planned before the rules are finalised, according to Union I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The ministry is also exploring ways to improve the television rating system to ensure fair revenue to television channels from government advertisements.
"Television Rating Point (TRP) guidelines are being formulated. The first round of consultation is complete, feedback has been received, and a second consultation paper will be published soon," Vaishnaw said on October 25.
The government has planned a series of initiatives to shield the conventional media from the disruptions expected due to rapid digitisation in the sector.
Apart from TRP reforms, the government also plans to remove the regulatory overhang in the radio industry. "The government is working to remove regulatory barriers wherever they exist," the minister said in an informal interaction with reporters.
Vaishnaw said the ministry is exploring ways to improve the television rating system to ensure fair revenue to television channels from government advertisements. The government is also considering increasing the advertisement rates for print and television media.
Vaishnaw said the government is also working on the integration of the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI), Central Bureau of Communication (CBC), and Press Information Bureau (PIB) to improve coordination across media outreach and regulatory functions.
He said the PIB has intensified its outreach efforts, issuing backgrounders and research-based documents on key topics regularly.
He said a chatbot for fact-checking is being developed for verifying the authenticity of videos and online content.
On July 2, the Ministry unveiled the “Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies in India” to set the regulatory framework for entities measuring viewership ratings. The ministry revised several clauses of the existing framework to ensure greater transparency and address emerging concerns, particularly those around potential conflicts of interest.
The key proposed amendments included:
Company Registration Clause Revised: Clause 1.1 will be updated to mandate that only companies registered under the Companies Act, 2013, will be eligible to apply for registration as television rating agencies.
Conflict of Interest Prohibition: Clause 1.4 is to be modified to explicitly prevent rating agencies from engaging in consultancy or advisory services that may result in a conflict of interest with their primary role.
Deletion of Outdated Provisions: Clauses 1.5 and 1.7, along with a proviso related to Clause 1, are slated for removal, streamlining the policy and removing ambiguities.
These changes were said to be implemented with immediate effect and will also apply to companies already registered under the current policy framework.
The draft aims to liberalize the market by allowing competition beyond the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), which currently serves as the sole television viewership measurement body.
The ministry had earlier noted that the existing system fails to capture the evolving patterns of how Indians consume video content across platforms.
However, the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation has opposed the proposal, maintaining that BARC should continue as the single currency for now, even as TAM considers re-entering the market with a multiscreen measurement model.
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