Full Form of TRP :
Television Rating Point
TRP Full Form is Television Rating Point. It is a tool which reveals the number of viewers of TV channels and is helpful to understand the popularity of a program or channel. This data is highly useful for statistical purposes and for advertising companies to determine the target audience within a given demographic and geometrical sectors.
In other words, TRP is a device which is fixed to the TV sets of a few thousand viewers to judge the number of views in a given locality. TRP is also called ‘people’s meter’ and records the program and time viewed by an individual in a day for 30 days from which an average data is derived. This data is taken as the sample to assess the overall statistics of viewership status of the specific channel in various sectors.
TRP Full Form -Additional Information
In India, and for that matter all over the world, people are hooked on to the “idiot box” – the television. But over the years, things have changed and now many informative shows are aired on different channels. Nonetheless, it is the daily soap operas, reality shows, and sports that keep the audience glued to the TV sets.
What is TRP?
This is a competitive world and each channel is vying to get viewership. When a channel plans to air a serial or a show, a lot of investment goes in the process and the channel wishes to earn full returns in the form of sponsorships, etc. TRP or Television Rating Point is a measure to know which shows are successful and which have less viewership.
When a show is scheduled for Prime Time viewing that is between 8 pm to 10.30 pm, there are many sponsors for its telecast. More sponsors mean more income for the channel. If the show becomes popular, then the sponsors’ number automatically increases and it becomes a profitable venture for the channel.
Hence, every channel has a system of assessing the popularity of the shows through a hired agency known as INTAM or Indian Television Audience Measurement. This agency analyzes the data of viewership through some unique methods and passes it on to the channels to take appropriate action. Audience count is important because it gives a clear picture of their investment in the show and profit / loss margins. Television Rating Point was also known as Target Rating Point a since it is done with a target audience in mind.
How is TRP calculated?
INTAM uses two different methods to calculate TRP. In the first method, a device called People’s Meter is attached to the TV sets of selected few thousand families from different demographic and geographical sectors. This is a random choice. The device records the program and time that a viewer has watched on a given day. Then, an average record for 30 days denotes the audience status for that selected channel.
The second method is more advanced and reliable. It is known as Picture Matching Technique. Here the People’s Meter constantly records a small segment of the picture that is being viewed on that particular TV set. In a similar manner, the agency records data from all the channels in these picture portions form.
The agency has a data in their database about various channels and they match it with the collected data from these chosen homes. This way they gauge the channel popularity and collectively it is easier to get a national rating for the channel. These TRPs are then conveyed to the channel heads to chart the future course of action. Television Rating Point has been used by all TV channels to decide the fate of their shows.
Advantages and disadvantages of TRP
As is the norm, only a few chosen homes are targeted for the collection of data. They may be from different geographical and demographic groups, but the fact remains that the data collected from random few cannot represent the masses. Judging a serial or a show from this data is not right as there may be others who are not selected for testing purpose yet may be in favor of the show. Random judgment does not do justice to the channel or the shows. There has to be at least a wider survey to confirm the results.
TRPs are usually used by the channels to retain the show in the prime slot or remove it to lesser viewed time slot or under certain cases, totally take the show off the air. Agreed, that the channels are looking to make money. But sometimes good serials and shows get the axe because of wrong TRP interpretations and boring and useless stuff stays on.
As far as advantages are concerned, then the sponsors look at the TRP of a show and come to be a part of it, thus generating income for the channel. The most popular and widely watched serials or reality shows get the maximum number of sponsors and that too from good, well-known companies. This is a winning situation for the company as well as the channel. The channel gets funds and the company’s advertisement gets a major audience.
Are TRPs relevant?
TRPs can be relevant to a certain degree. At least, the producers of the shows know if their investment is worth it and if the people are happy with what they are watching. The channel is satisfied to learn that they have picked the right type of programs to air for the masses. The sponsors are relieved that their investment is bearing results as a wider audience is watching their commercials. So far, so good; but it does not stop there.
TRPs are calculated with taking into consideration the viewing choice of select audience. This does not mean that it is foolproof. Some programs enjoyed by lower strata of the public may not necessarily appeal to the educated higher class masses. And all the informative and good programs may not have the same viewership as daily operas and shows. Thus, it is wrong to assume that TRPs are the final verdict to decide the fate of a program.
Our country is very fond of entertainment and goes all out to vote for programs that are “entertaining”. Now, there is a big difference between “entertaining shows” and “good shows”. That is, all entertaining shows may not be good and all genuinely good programs may not entertain common people. So how can you decide by random survey what is right and what is wrong? It is just not proper and justifiable.
Should TRPs be held valid measure for success or failure?
If such a question arises, the answer should be a firm “NO”. As discussed earlier, TRP is just a survey of a group of people and does not mean that it is the ultimate vote of the entire nation. Something that may appeal to one can prove boring and intolerable to some other person. So who are we to judge the entire community on the basis of data collected from select few?
TRPs are fine to just get a rough idea about the popularity of the shows and the channels. The data, no doubt, helps in assessing which channels have a higher viewership and which programs are appreciated on those channels by the masses. From the soaring or sliding TRPs, the channel heads as well as show producers gear up to revamp the shows to make them more acceptable or if the viewership is low, then they decide to wind up the program to save further losses. TRP can be taken as a ruler that measures the fate of a program on 1 to 10 points. Nonetheless, there are limitations to the ruler and to measure beyond that, we need a wider and foolproof system.