Indiantelevision dot com's Perspectives: TV Research

TV Research - Going beyond TRPs

By ASHWIN KOTIAN

Posted on 7 August 2003

"I do maintain that Indian television needs to be liberated from a TRP trap." Another bout of whining from those that have lost out in the ratings race to Star Plus and the like? Actually, this is a statement made by Dr N Bhaskara Rao, chairman, Centre for Media Studies (CMS), former president of the original ORG and a pioneer in media research in India.

While the reference to "liberation" might appear to be a tad extreme, it does open up an engaging debate on the status of TV research in the country. The timing for a discussion of this sort, too, is right. After all, with the impending implementation of conditional access system (CAS) and direct to home (DTH) broadcast close at hand, life is about to become even more complicated for Indian media planners and buyers.

At the centre of the TV research debate is of course TAM India - or rather Television Audience Measurement Media Research, a 50:50 joint venture between Nielsen Media Research(NMR)/AC Nielsen and Kantar Media Research(KMR)/IMRB.

TAM is the only universal television measurement currency in the country at present and post-expansion January 2003, TAM has staked its claim to being the biggest measurement system in the Asia Pacific with a panel strength of 4,800 meters covering nearly 30,000 individuals in 14 states.

The last two years, however have not been without controversy. From charges of rigged ratings to accusations that the monopoly situation that TAM "enjoyed" meant that the weaknesses of the peoplemeter and TRP rating system were being papered over.

Refuting charges of 'monopoly', TAM India CEO LV Krishnan says: "Monopoly is the wrong term and a single rating system doesn't mean being monopolistic. In several countries around the world, a single system still prevails and caters to the diverse needs of the broadcasters, ad agencies and advertisers. We (at TAM India) feel that we have more responsibilities and the emphasis is on delivering optimum value."

Counters Dr Rao: "The nomenclature should be 'TRP for selected urban markets of India for the sake of the younger generation of media planners and buyers.' Recently, some effort seems to have been made by the agency. The impression that TRP has been a representative yardstick for Indian TV households and viewing need to be corrected. The way the analysis is done and used by subscribers as well as by the research agency need to be relooked including the format of presentation of the findings."

"The research agency (or its affiliates) involved should not be involved in taking up the 'case of individual channels' - as they often do. Transparency about the revamped TRP system has to be much more. It needs noting that some positive steps have been taken by TAM. Still, any reference to TRPs should invariably give the 'caution' or limitations (all such services will have limitation no matter who and where) the same way as 'cigarette smoking is dangerous' on cigarette packets," Dr Rao says.

Krishnan however, reasons: "In fact, the data provided by us is a cumulative of distribution data, viewership ratings along with time spent. One doesn't have to look out for distribution data separately or in isolation. If channels don't have proper distribution systems, then they won't feature in the ratings. Our systems are extremely sensitive to the changes in the environment. Even the minor fluctuations - changes in content or viewing behaviour or shifts in distribution are reported."

BALANCE RATINGS VIS-À-VIS OTHER INFORMATION
There are few who would disagree that TAM provides a pretty comprehensive information service considering the complexities that constitute the Indian demographic. And while most acknowledge the need for a bigger and more rigorously monitored sample size, the fact remains that the industry cannot afford (or is not willing) to pay more to get the service improved. So the question is still how can the quality of TV research be improved in the circumstances that prevail?

Putting forth the perspective of the India's lead broadcaster, Star India senior V-P content and communication Tarun Katial says, "Star India commissions independent qualitative research on programmes, time bands and brands other than the data obtained from TAM India. We also obtain target audience specific qualitative and quantitative data. The entire industry has to support TAM India in terms of funding or inputs. Everybody is equally responsible for the current situation. Those who blame TAM for its shortcomings have to share the responsibility too. Yes, the number of peoplemeters have to be increased and it will be done gradually. But, it is a vicious cycle!"

According to SET India executive VP Sunil Lulla: "One has to be able to balance the ratings vis-à-vis other information which one gains from one's own research or other such syndicated researches. The ratings system is a guideline. It is not necessarily a precise benchmark. It throws up trends and indicates audience viewing habits vis-à-vis programmes. Importantly, one must appreciate this is the currency with which advertisers measure their judgments, prior to making investments in broadcast channels."

TV RESEARCH STILL IN ITS INFANCY
Research specialist and research outfit Vitamin S promoter Prashant Sanwal (who has earlier worked with top ad agencies and broadcasters) goes a step further and says that TV research in India hasn't really taken off because the television industry in India is still in a nascent phase "More so, because there are no norms as TV research is a continuous and painstaking process; developing the norms takes years. Most of the top FMCG companies use norms, practices and knowledge banks that have been developed over decades," Sanwal points out.

Meanwhile, making a case for getting out the "metro syndrome", Lulla says, "In a country like India which is very diverse and where segmentation is done; not just on demographics but on language, communities and other socio-cultural parameters. Most certainly, increasing the sample size would certainly add value to the consistency, reliability and usage of those data.

The fact remains that most of the broadcasters themselves have to fend for themselves when it comes to obtaining qualitative analysis. They also need to commission outside agencies to bring an element of credibility in an attempt to ensure that the findings are accepted.

This is especially true in the case of niche channels which have to offer more than TAM data in order to woo advertisers. For instance BBC's annual Horizons study which it releases in association with Initiative Media.

AD AGENCY PLANNERS HAVE GONE BEYOND...
Looking at this issue from the clients' side, a majority of the major advertisers totally rely on advertising agencies to provide them with reliable data when making decisions on spends. Agencies have perforce had to move ahead and started using additional tools and techniques to add to what TAM provides.

The additional options that media planners have started using include fusing of TAM data with readership surveys like NRS and IRS. Psychographic studies such as WPP's 3D or OTS Update, which tracks availability of channels directly from cable control rooms are also being used. Studies such as MediaCom's Teleosmosis Tool, WPP Media division ATG's View Matrix tool, Madison Media's Town and Country Tool have won accolades at The Ad Club Bombay's Emvies awards 2003.

MindShare MD Ashutosh Srivastava says: "Any decent media agency would always look at distribution related data while planning and buying, in conjunction with TAM. Most developed markets have a peoplemeter panel for ratings; and that information is usually supplemented with a large scale establishment study - like TGI (a WPP research wing)."

Media Reach Research V-P Kapil Anand, whose company provides OTS Update data, raises the pitch for giving distribution data its due importance. "All the C&S broadcasters talk of connectivity in 40 million homes but the ground reality is something very different. Normally, one views what one prefers but only if it is available. Preferences are not about TRPs. Therefore, media planners and buyers must consider reach first and then viewership - something similar to what they do in the case of print media," Anand adds while stating that his client list includes top agencies and broadcasters.

Says Lulla: "SET has an extensive distribution across India. We believe that the information that we gain out of our distribution systems supplements what we learn from TAM based data."

Sanwal says: "Ratings don't answer all the issues. In today's scenario you need qualitative data too. Psychographics are becoming more important than ever before and insights into consumer behaviour is what will keep you ahead."

A CASe FOR BETTER RESEARCH:
Unravelling the mysteries of a fragmented market like India has always been a challenge for the media fraternity. The impending implementation of the conditional access system (CAS) and the launch of direct to home (DTH) services, which is also close at hand, have only served to complicate matters further.

"Now that CAS and DTH are a reality and around the corner, it should give a new opportunity for everyone concerned to correct several limitations and distortions in the methodology and set new directions for a more reliable, relevant and representative mechanism. The methodology anyhow needs to undergo radical restructuring and revamp. And needs to be widely discussed and more specifically. Also because there are some newer technologies now for tracking the extent and pattern of viewership," says Dr Rao.

TAM GEARED FOR CAS
According to Krishnan, "life will go on" as the ratings will not change drastically unless a threshold level of adoption of set top boxes is reached. India is moving ahead in the direction that several developed countries have already gone, he says.

"In the post CAS scenario, rating agencies will incorporate changes in the universe of C&S households to provide information on those households that invest in set top boxes to watch pay channels. Tracking of the CAS homes will start from day one. However, the readings will not alter dramatically till an optimum level of adoption of set top boxes is reached. The representation will not change much unless penetration reaches a certain level," says Krishnan.

DOUBTS ABOUT DATA FROM SET TOP BOXES
One school of thought that has emerged around the post-CAS scenario is that the set top box will act as a medium for enhancing the quality of data vis-à-vis viewer profiles and preferences. Multi system operators (MSOs) are already talking about providing data such data generated through STBs. However, media planners, buyers and research specialists maintain that data from STBs will have to carefully scrutinised and monitored in order to remove the element of bias.

MindShare's MD Srivastava says: "To my mind, it's a big step backwards, from the sophistication of the peoplemeter. Firstly, not every household will have a box, and therefore the STB universe as a replacement for peoplemeter is a 'biased' sample, as only the more affluent households will go for it. Secondly, it captures information at the household level, whereas the peoplemeter captures viewing information at individual level. Nowhere in the world have STBs replaced peoplemeters."

But INCableNet COO Rajiv Vyas points out: "Consumer profiling will happen at the SMS end (subscriber management system) because the STB is merely a device - not an analytical interpreter. At a later stage, when STBs are able to undertake two-way communication, then polling and other interactive activities will definitely provide consumer insights."

TAM's Krishnan is not convinced by Vyas's argument. "It is difficult to imagine a post-CAS scenario wherein the industry constituents would depend on set top boxes (STBs). STBs are restricted in the ability to capture data as they are not designed to do so. MSOs cannot be content suppliers as well as data suppliers. Research has to be free of bias and third party entities are the best judges," he says.

In summation, what comes out of all this is that industry constituents are looking at various forms of credible data sources to improve their understanding of the market mechanics. The operative point is that media planners and buyers will seek more and better quality research. So for those offering research, it's do or die!