TRP - a friend and a foe - Page 6

i think arshi, all the shows go through same type of pressure, its a cut throat competition..one thing i am not sure about is what if this whole trp system is corrupted! corruption is the middle name of india, then why this can be left behind!

Originally posted by: mandygill

i think arshi, all the shows go through same type of pressure, its a cut throat competition..one thing i am not sure about is what if this whole trp system is corrupted! corruption is the middle name of india, then why this can be left behind!

Originally posted by: mandygill

i think arshi, all the shows go through same type of pressure, its a cut throat competition..one thing i am not sure about is what if this whole trp system is corrupted! corruption is the middle name of india, then why this can be left behind!

well:
- for one the trps are measured by a 3rd party agency.
- no channel is associated with this (no investments, partnerships etc.)
- the agency's primary business is to sell trp ratings research to channels.
- it is able to sell its trp ratings research only because the industry (i.e. its research buyers - channels) believe in the neutrality of its ratings.
- if trust goes, the agency is out of business.
- so in its own long term interests & survival, the agency will be more than scrupulous.
- also I am sure all the channels will be slicing the data sets provided by the agency for a particular weeks trp ratings...so hanky panky will be caught quickly.

Originally posted by: arshicritic

Corrupted I don't know Mandy, even if it not corrupt in implementation, it is still inadequate and poorly designed and its result is not a true picture of the quality and viewership of the show!

yes, but how can it be changed! this system seems to be so outdated! what about other media! i watch all my shows on my laptop, do not have the patience to sit through the ads on tv! what about us international viewers! they should take everything into consideration.

Originally posted by: arshicritic

Well said Vaishali, as long as we get the kind of emotional connect we want, we are going to be a part of this show, but knowing how this TRP business works has made me more appreciative of the compulsions of the entire team of SC , and more respect for the quality they have been delivering.

I am sure they will change the script according to the TRP.SLB knows this is not movie this is TV show if he wants to see his show for longer time then he has to change script.No one likes tragedy.He may bring some twist and turns that will give some turns to TRP also.Hope there will be rise in trp by next week.After IPL we can see the trp.

Originally posted by: arshicritic

Corrupted I don't know Mandy, even if it not corrupt in implementation, it is still inadequate and poorly designed and its result is not a true picture of the quality and viewership of the show!

agree...

I guess the challenge is the scale...
India has 135 million TV households...multiply that by an average of 4 people per household...and you have 540 million people whose preferences have tobe measured daily!

the charactersitics of the current sample segment (refer my earlier post) will cause a long term bias towards the saas-bahu flavor...

i guess one of the reasons the channels are pushing for digitization is to break-away and get more operational flexibity...

when you have a digital subscription - based model

1) you get revenues from subscription and are now not dependent so much on advertisers.
2) these set-top boxes can theoretically track automatically and in more complex ways how shows are being viewed. So you get a better data set and can configure customized shows going forward to appeal to a particular segment.

but that's still some way off...

till then let's enjoy what we can...and keep our fingers crossed our SC will continue to deliver our kicks for us..

👍🏼

Originally posted by: hotdogg

agree...

I guess the challenge is the scale...
India has 135 million TV households...multiply that by an average of 4 people per household...and you have 540 million people whose preferences have tobe measured daily!

the charactersitics of the current sample segment (refer my earlier post) will cause a long term bias towards the saas-bahu flavor...

i guess one of the reasons the channels are pushing for digitization is to break-away and get more operational flexibity...

when you have a digital subscription - based model

1) you get revenues from subscription and are now not dependent so much on advertisers.
2) these set-top boxes can theoretically track automatically and in more complex ways how shows are being viewed. So you get a better data set and can configure customized shows going forward to appeal to a particular segment.

but that's still some way off...

till then let's enjoy what we can...and keep our fingers crossed our SC will continue to deliver our kicks for us..

👍🏼

thanks for the info hotdogg, can u throw some more light on digitization, i did not quite get it..does that mean covering more sources other than tv?

ok...let me try to explain with the example of SP...

...right now SP transmits it show through satellite...this is caught by satellite disks of large cable wallah companies (e.g. Hathway in Mumbai), who in turn connects through wires / cables to your local cable wala...who in turn connects the wire / cable to your tv...

...now SP is supposed to charge the Hathway for the total number of subscribers (Tv he's hooking up)...The cable company and the local cable guy under-report the total tvs hooked up...so for SP there is huge revenue left at the table for all TV hook-ups not reported...it has not manpower to check out each and every home...typical reporting of TV hook ups is ONLY 20% of actual installed base...

...and this is because the underreporting happens at 2 levels...your local cable guy (who is an entrepreneur) underreports to Hathway...who maybe also further underreports to SP...but pays only for what it reports...

...therefore now SP is heavily dependent on advertisers for revenue...

...this system is an analog system...more like carpet bombing from satellite...


...by digitization I mean Set-top boxes (STB) and Dish tv type delivery...

...what happens now is the SP will encrypt its signals before transmission from satellite...the signal can travel all the way to your tv set using the same infrastructure (for set-top boxes) or directly through your own private satellite dish from satellite...

,,,however for you to view you will need to decrypt it using a set-top box or the satellite disk...

..and you pay a subscription for this...

...With the digitisation of cable TV , the actual number of subscribers gets recorded through the set-top boxes (STBs) which contain a digital card with the user's address and details of his accounts, much like a bank debit card. There is a record of each set top box through which the signals are sent to individual homes.

The technology ensures that the broadcasters, the big distributors and the government get to know the exact number of subscribers. ...

...the viewer gets customization...we can pay for a boquet of channels he prefers rather than 200+ channels...digitization allows conversion to HDTV format...so we get crisper quality...we can record shows through the STB...

...most western countries have completely shifted from analog to digital over the last 4 - 5 years...
...most channels in western countries consequently earn more revenu from subscriptions than from advertisers..

the government has passed a law...the process has started in 4 metros ...implementation got delayed by 8 months - 1 year because of vested interests who were losing a lot of the black money...

...but here now unless you have a STB you just cannot view...

as this process extends to the entire country...SP and channels will have breathing space...

...but till then its trp and advertisers...

yeah...that's a summary i guess...

man...what will a fan do for a show?
wanted to get to the bottom of trp coz my favorite show was not getting good trp...and now I sound like a TV industry person...

😎

but I guess it was worth the effort...coz now all of us fans understand this better...

thx a million hotdogg for the effort u made in collecting that info! i didn't know much about what system exists in india, its actually digitization abroad of which i only knew that we have a cable box! thanks again..phew! a lot of typing for u eh!