Government Revises Draft TRP Guidelines as BARC Rating Manipulation Investigation Escalates

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has placed a revised draft amendment for Television Rating Agencies signaling a major push to strengthen the credibility and accuracy of the country’s television rating points (TRP) framework. The update was shared in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Among the key proposals to revise the TRP rating methodology is the elimination of landing-page viewership influence. Data arising from landing-page placement will no longer be counted, removing a widely exploited practice used by channels to artificially boost ratings.

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Rating agencies will also be required to expand their household panels significantly. They must add 10,000 households annually until the panel reaches 1.2 lakh homes, with a mandate to scale up to 80,000 homes within six months of the notification. This expansion addresses long-standing industry complaints about inadequate sample representation and the manipulation risks inherent in smaller datasets.

The Annual General Meeting of the News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) had earlier raised its concern over the recent BARC rating fraud allegations. Following a complaint filed by NBF Chairman Arnab Goswami to the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, BARC ordered an investigation.

Story Highlights : Government Revises Draft TRP Guidelines as BARC Rating Manipulation Investigation Escalates