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Tag: TRP Scandal

  • Audit report confirms TRP manipulation by former BARC executives: Mumbai Police

    Audit report confirms TRP manipulation by former BARC executives: Mumbai Police

    NEW DELHI: Two months after the alleged TRP scam was busted by the Mumbai police, the department, in yet another sensational conference on Friday, claimed that a third party-conducted, Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC)-commissioned audit report of the ratings agency has confirmed that TRPs were manipulated under the previous management. 

    The report which was received by BARC in July was handed over to the Mumbai police last week, as stated by joint commissioner of police (crime) Milind Bharambe. The report, from May 2017  to November 2019, shows that TRPs of English and Telugu news channels had been tampered with.

    The forensic audit was commissioned after new management took over at BARC in January this year and received whistle blower complaints, he added. 

    “BARC had received the report in July this year. The report said from a period of mid- 2017 to -November 2019 TRPs of English and Telugu news channels td. It showed that TRPs of channels like Times Now had been reduced so that Republic would appear to be no. 1 by analysing selectively,” Bharambe highlighted.

    The report, he added, says that ratings appeared to have been pre-decided and accordingly data was manipulated using three methodologies: the  outlier method, meta rule and  channel audience control. It further revealed incriminating chats and emails between senior BARC officials the police said.  Times Now which was on number 1 and was shown to be at No 2, and Republic as No1.

    Bharambe says that tbe BARC audit vindicates what the police has been claiming all along about Republic being involved in fixing the ratings.

    Republic TV has once again rebutted the claims and called the press conference “bogus” and their claims “laughable.”

    In related news, BARC former CEO Partha Dasgupta was arrested by Mumbai Police and was sent to custody till 28 December. Before Dasgupta, former BARC COO Romil Ramgarhia and Republic Media Network CEO Vikas Khanchandan were also arrested in the case. While Ramgarhia was released on Thursday, Khanchandani was granted bail on 16 December. 

  • CNN remains outside of the impact of TRP measurement systems: Abhijeet Dhar

    CNN remains outside of the impact of TRP measurement systems: Abhijeet Dhar

    NEW DELHI: The theatrics surrounding the alleged manipulation of TRP by some of the top channels has prompted BARC to temporarily dismiss data sharing for the news genre, leaving an already unsatisfied community of leaders worrying further. While some players are taking it as an opportunity to reconsider their programming strategies and content, a few have again highlighted their points of contention for the existing measurement system. 

    However, in a recent exclusive conversation with Indiantelevision.com, CNN International director – sales South Asia Abhijeet Dhar claimed that the organisation has maintained a distance from the TRP rat race, and therefore, remains unimpacted by BARC’s decision. 

    He said, “CNN has been in India for a long time and has always strived to remain outside of this (measurement) system; earlier, there was TAM and now there is BARC. I think we are vaccinated and immune in that regard. Our approach to working with clients has been very different and we will continue to work in the same manner.”

    Dhar added that CNN’s approach to any client conversation is keeping the audience at the centre of everything and where the advertising message is supposed to be reaching. 

    “For us, the audience has always been at the heart of everything we do, be it editorial or sales. There is a big task force that sits with the client and discusses with them premium content, cross-platform initiatives, and the best narratives to reach the right audience. Everything is then curated basis the client brief.” 

    He asserted that they do not work with a sales-centred approach as it will be unfair to the audience. “Even as a sales team, CNN is very particular that we remain accurate and serve only the accurate information to our viewers,” he said. 

    But in the charged and manipulative environment of today, where so many advertisers and agencies are reconsidering their presence on several news channels, how does he ensure that advertiser interest remains intact in CNN?

    To this, Dhar has a very simple answer, “For us, the most valued asset is our audience; irrespective of the platform they are on, or the geographic location they come from. Our intent, with our editorial content too, remains to enhance the audience experience and give them a global perspective to the news. So, our clients also get a chance to optimise their content as our partners. That helps them too, in establishing a good connect with the right audience.” 

    This strategy helped Dhar and CNN sail through the tough times of the pandemic-induced lockdown of the past few months. 

    “CNN has always been at the forefront of advertiser movement. It comes naturally to us and that remains prevalent in the pandemic too. We have realised with various studies that advertising is very important for brands in this period as well and for certain categories, like biztech, home entertainment, the period ensured good growth. So, we became a preferred choice for them,” he explained. 

    Dhar is positive that from here on out, advertising trends will only be on the up and up. “There is austerity fatigue among most of the Indian consumers and the clients too. I think, with the festive season, we will see more people spending and I am positive about the coming quarter,” he signed off.  

  • The TRP fudging saga continues

    The TRP fudging saga continues

    NEW DELHI: The Mumbai police’s investigation into the alleged TRP manipulation fracas gathered pace over the weekend. If one were to stand outside the central police headquarters in Mumbai, it would have looked like a roll call of media hotshots was being taken.  

    Amongst those to go in were Republic TV CEO Vikas Khanchandani who was interrogated for more than nine hours about the network’s involvement, something the founder Arnab Goswami has vehemently denied, stating that it was TV Today which was indulging in TRP rigging. India Today has denied any such wrongdoing.

    The police had sent summons to Republic Bharat COO Harsh Bhandari;  COO- international revenue & distribution Priya Mukherjee; senior distribution executive Ghanshyam Singh, the CEO of Hansa Research Group Praveen Nijhara and another employee.  Madison founder Sam Balsara, IPG Mediabrands CEO Shashi Sinha also spent a large part of the day being questioned by the Mumbai police.

    Republic TV CFO Shiva Subramaniyam Sundaram, who had also been ordered to appear before the cops, declined, stating that he would available for questioning only after 14-15 October. He also said that he had requested the law enforcers to halt the probe until the company’s writ petition against the police’s actions is heard by the Supreme Court.

    Read more news on TRP Scandal

    Even as this piece is being written, six teams from the Mumbai police crime branch were further investigating if the malpractice of TRP rigging was being resorted in six states. Republic TV issued a press release stating that the Mumbai police repeatedly tried to find out from its executives how the network managed to get their hands on the Hansa Research filed complaint. It said it would not reveal its sources, citing editorial privilege.

    The Mumbai police stepped in to investigate the alleged scam after BARC’s people meter management vendor Hansa Research complained to it that the viewership sample had been compromised. Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh then held a press conference, alleging that executives of three channels – Box Cinema TV, Fakt Marathi and Republic TV – gave financial inducements to members of BARC’s viewership panel to watch their shows, thus inflating their viewerships.

    Senior professionals, from the first two, were arrested and are cooling their heels behind bars since the allegations were hurled on 9 October.

    Goswami has all along being insisting that Republic TV’s name was not even there in the Hansa complaint, it was TV Today which was mentioned several times, he said. He has  also alleged that the Mumbai police chief is attacking his network at the insistence of the Maharashtra government for continuing to investigate the Sushant Singh Rajput “murder” and several other acts of negligence by it and the city’s law enforcers.

    Over the weekend, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also mentioned that it will be taking up the issue. It has asked representatives of the News Broadcasters Association, Press Council of India and Prasar Bharati to depose on the subject of 'ethical standards in media coverage.’

    Earlier during the week, Mumbai Police had arrested four people including Bompalli Rao Mistry, the alleged mastermind behind the scandal. Mistry will remain in the police custody until 13 October.