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TRP Measurement: What is the biggest scale of success of any show on TV? If you are thinking that just going viral on social media or getting praise from the audience is enough, then it is not so. The real success of any show in the TV industry is decided by TRP (Television Rating Point). This is the data on the basis of which it is decided which show is number one, which is lagging behind and which show is in danger of closure.

You must have often heard that the TRP of a show has fallen, a serial has achieved the number-1 position or a new show has overtaken the old hit show. But have you ever wondered where this TRP comes from? Is the number of people watching TV counted in every household in the country? Is every viewer’s choice recorded? And on what basis is it decided which show is a hit and which is a flop? Let us understand the complete mathematics behind TRP in simple language.

After all, what is TRP?

TRP i.e. Television Rating Point is a criterion by which it is found out how many viewers are watching a TV show, channel or program and how popular it is among the viewers. In simple words, TRP is the report card of the popularity of a show. The higher the TRP, the more viewers and the higher the earning potential of that show. On this basis, TV channels, production houses and advertising companies decide in which show to invest and in which show running advertisements will be more profitable.

Who decides TRP in India?

The work of measuring TV ratings in India is done by BARC India (Broadcast Audience Research Council India). BARC is an industry institution formed by broadcasters, advertising agencies and advertisers. Its main objective is to find out which channels and programs are being watched the most across the country. BARC releases ratings of different channels and programs every week. On the basis of these figures, the position of the show in the TV industry is decided.

Does every household count?

The answer to this question is no. Crores of families in India watch TV. In such a situation, it is almost impossible to record TV data of every house. Therefore BARC uses a sample system. Some selected families are selected from different states, cities, towns and villages of the country. Efforts are made to include people from different income groups, ages, languages ​​and social backgrounds in these families, so that the real TV watching habits of the country can be represented. Based on the data of these selected houses, estimates for the entire country are prepared.

What is ‘people meter’?

To measure TRP, a special electronic device is installed in the selected houses, which is usually called People Meter. This device remains connected to the TV and records which channel is being watched, at what time, for how long, when the viewer changes the channel, during which program the TV is switched off. In some systems, family members also register who is watching TV at that time by pressing a button according to their identity. Through this, data of different age categories and audience groups is also prepared.

How does TRP math work?

Suppose at a particular time, out of 1000 sample families, 150 families are watching the same show. By analyzing these data, it is estimated that approximately how many viewers will be watching that show in the entire country. That is, TRP is not a direct calculation of all TV viewers, but is an estimate prepared on the basis of a scientific sampling system. For this reason, to maintain the accuracy of the data, the selection of sample families and their data are kept extremely confidential.

Why does TRP change every week?

If you have noticed, many times a show is number-1 one week and its ranking falls the very next week. There can be many reasons behind this – new twist in the story, entry of a big actor, impact of festivals or cricket matches, finale of a big reality show, changing preferences of the audience, strong competition on other channels. This is the reason why special attention is kept on TRP every week in the TV industry.

Why is TRP important for advertising companies?

The biggest income of TV channels comes from advertising. If the TRP of a show is high then obviously more people are watching it. In such a situation, big companies like to run their advertisements during the same show. For example, if a serial remains number-1 continuously, the price of its advertising slot may be much higher than other programs. That means, the higher the TRP, the higher will be the advertising revenue.

Can the show be closed due to bad TRP?

Yes, this happens many times. If the TRP of a show remains weak for several weeks continuously, then the channel and producer make changes in its story. New characters are introduced, big twists are added or the time slot of the show is changed. If despite this the number of viewers does not increase, then sometimes a decision is taken to close the show. There are many such examples in the TV industry, where even shows with big stars went off air quickly due to weak TRP.