I&B ministry for one rating for broadcast sector

India will soon get a comprehensive content rating system with the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry deciding to evolve one system for rating of programmes across all broadcast sector.

Updated on: Nov 9, 2010, 24:03:23 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

India will soon get a comprehensive content rating system with the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry deciding to evolve one system for rating of programmes across all broadcast sector.

The ministry through new system intends to cover television programmes on all platforms — Direct To Home, Cable, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and on mobile telephones — and radio network — FM, community radio and All India radio. The existing television rating point (TRP) system mostly covers almost 15,000-20,000 cable homes and a few thousand DTH subscribers. The rating for radio programmes is also limited to a few metropolitan cities.

“There are lot of problems with present TRP system,” a ministry official said, primarily of poor coverage in states such as Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern states.

The basic approach paper for 12th five-year plan starting from 2012 says the new rating system for broadcasting sector will have an over-riding impact on content creation by broadcasters.

“The new system will be defined by a committee constituted to evolve 12th plan approach for the ministry,” the official said.

With the new rating system, the government is looking at achieving the goal of better content development to meet the goal of complete digitalisation of the broadcast sector by 2015.

Significant progress has been made with over 10% of television homes being covered by either DTH or IPTV or cable Conditional Access System. India’s national broadcaster Doordarshan and All India Radio has also got equipment for producing programmes on high quality digital mode.

Ministry officials also say that the new rating system will also be important for content development as the government aims to cover remaining parts of the country with community radio and FM radio services.

A policy framework for third phase of FM radio is being considered by a Group of Ministers whereas the I&B ministry has working on a proposal to provide seed money to organisations to set up community radio stations in remote parts of the country.

The 12th plan committee is also likely to recommend a framework to the government on multi media delivery service including television programmes, animation and games through wireless. The committee’s report is expected in a few months, officials said.

TRP trap

The existing television rating point (TRP) system mostly covers about 15,000-20,000 cable homes and a few thousand DTH subscribers

I&B ministry intends to cover TV programmes on all platforms

The new rating system for broadcasting sector will have an over-riding impact on content creation by broadcasters

The new system will also be vital for content development as the Centre aims to cover rest of India with community radio and FM radio services

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!

Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.