Introduction You just heard that a TV Show was ranked #1 in the TV ratings. What does that really mean?

How does Media Research "rate" TV shows? Why do shows you think are really pretty good get canceled? The answers to all these questions end up with a small abbreviation TRP. The companies engaged in finding the ratings include A C Nielsen and ORG-MARG. Television ratings provide the television and advertising industry with a currency to buy and sell television airtime, and to plan and schedule television programmes. ACNielsen globally operates its media measurement and advertising information services under the trade name Nielsen Media Research (NMR). Nielsen Media Research is the sole provider of the television audience measurement currency for the television industry. Television ratings are the numeric estimate of the television viewing audience collected from a representative sample of households. This information is available on a both a subscription and an ad hoc basis. Nielsen Media Research Television Ratings represent the industry currency for television audience measurement with a fully national PeopleMeter panel of 470 households. This equates to approximately 1100 people 5 years and over. The service measures permanent private dwellings so viewing in institutions, pubs and clubs, etc. are not included. The Nielsen Media Research Television Ratings service provides ratings data: Daily - 7 days a week 24 hours of the day 365 days of the year Projecting for 3.6 million people and 1.374 million households

Within television networks, programming, statistics, sales teams, publicity and promotions use TV Ratings. These departments rely on Nielsen Media Research Television Measurement Services to: Provide a sales tool for marketing their advertising strengths Evaluate the effectiveness of programming Establish the value of commercial air time

 Rank the top rating programmes and look at their audience loyalty over time Produce demographic information on the size and profile of television audiences Assist with scheduling programmes and promotions Research changes and trends in television viewing behaviour Within advertising agencies, TV Ratings are used by strategists, researchers and media planners and buyers to: Provide a demographic profile of target audiences and track their viewing habits Create reach and frequency objectives and set realistic targets Plan advertising campaigns As a tracking device for progressive or post-campaign analysis Provide demographic information for effective media planning Nielsen Media Research provides a comprehensive service to subscribers, including ratings data, a suite of software analysis tools and an experienced Client Service team to guide clients in understanding and analysing the data.

Methodology The Nielsen Media Research Television Ratings service uses people meters to measure television audience viewing. PeopleMeter units are installed in a representative sample of households and provide accurate daily data for a wide range of demographics. Nielsen Media Research conducts annual Establishment Surveys to gather extensive details on channel reception, ownership of TV-related equipment and a full breakdown of household and individual demographics. From this sample, plus information from the latest available census, a panel of households is recruited to represent the population.

Procedure for finding the TRP Ratings The way that Media Research finds out about who is watching is to measure what a sample of television viewers are watching. For our national ratings estimates, we use a sample of more than 5,000 households, containing over 13,000 people who have agreed to participate. Since there are over 99 million households with TVs in the U.S., it might seem that a sample of 5,000 is just not big enough to represent the nation.There are many ways to reach the final findings. In order to provide all the information which the TV and advertising industries need, Media Research actually measures all of the above. We report the amount of TV usage on every set in a sample household those are homes which have agreed to participate in the Nielsen TV sampling for a specific period of time. Few of them are as follows:

Measuring TV sets In a specially selected sample of homes, Media Research technicians install metering equipment on TV sets, VCRs and cable boxes (and even satellite dishes). The TV meters automatically and invisibly keep track of when the sets are on and what the sets are tuned to. These meters are connected to a central "black box," which is actually a very small computer and modem. Information from the meters is collected by the black box, and in the middle of the night all the black boxes call in their information to our central computers.

Identifying TV programs To know what is on the channel at the time it is tuned, we have to collect a large amount of information every day about what is on every TV station and cable channel all across the country. A program may be scheduled by a network, but some stations that usually carry that network may not carry that program, or may delay the program and show it at a different time. Nielsen Media Research's primary source of information about which programs are airing for each station or cable channel comes from a very special coded ID number that is part of almost every TV picture-a series of lines and dots in the top edge of the picture which labels the program and episode. Nielsen Media Research developed and patented this systems, which we call AMOL, or Automated Measurement Of Line-

ups. All across the country, we have sites where TV stations are monitored and the program ID codes are detected and collected. Each night, these monitoring sites connect up to our central computer and download the information. they compile the electronic program information and compare it to other sources of information they have already received. If there are discrepancies, they call TV stations and cable operators to verify what actually was aired. Keeping track of what is on TV is also done with the help of program listings provided by networks, stations and cable systems, as well as published TV listings. more than 1,700 TV stations and 11,000 cable systems are tracked. With this database as a starting point, they can credit tuning and viewing to all of the networks, syndicators, cable networks, TV stations and cable systems involved in providing TV programming to the viewing public.

Identifying commercials Although there are many TV programs, there are even more commercials. Keeping track of what commercials are on TV is another service provided by Media Research. Using a special passive TV signal identification technology, commercials on TV stations are continuously monitored and converted into a digital "fingerprint". These fingerprints are then compared to a computer file of fingerprints from thousands of different commercials and automatically identified whenever possible (which is about 95% of the time). The other 5% of the time, videotapes of unmatched commercials are sent to a central office to be viewed and properly credited. This information is used to produce reports detailing when and where TV commercials actually aired.

Measuring People This is the main ingredient in the recipe for ratings: who is watching? When we combine the measurement of who is watching with what channel is tuned and what program is on that channel, we can credit viewing to a program. Nielsen Media Research measures who is watching programs which reach the entire nation with the Nielsen People Meter. In our national

sample, we install set meters which have an attachment called a "People Meter". The People Meter is a box, about the size of a paperback book, which is placed on or near each TV set. The box has buttons and lights which are assigned to each person who lives in the household (with additional buttons for guests). There is also a remote control to operate the people meter from anywhere in the room. When a viewer begins watching TV, they push their button, changing their indicator light from red to green. When they finish watching, they push their button again and the indicator changes back to red. periodically, the lights flash to remind people to check to make sure that the information in the people meter is accurate. Information from the people meters is combined with set tuning information and relayed to Nielsen Media Research each night.

National and local measurement So far, we have been describing how Nielsen Media Research measures audiences to programs which reach the entire nation. But the television system in the United States also requires a local measurement of how programs perform in specific markets. In fact, Nielsen Media Research measures more than 200 individual local television markets in addition to the national measurement service. There are many important differences in the way Nielsen Media Research measures local television

Diaries: Another way to know who is watching To measure the audiences for local television, Nielsen Media Research gathers viewing information using TV diaries, booklets in which samples of viewers record their television viewing during a measurement week. We conduct diary measurement for more than 200 individual local television four times each year, during February, May, July, and November: (You may have heard of these as "sweep" months, in which we conduct a complete diary measurement across the nation.) The diary requests that viewers write down not only who watched, but what program and what channel they watched.

We have tried to make the task of filling out a diary as easy as possible by asking people to report what they do by quarter hours (instead of minute-by-minute). Once the diaries are filled out, viewers mail them back to us and we transfer the information into our computers in order to calculate ratings. In more than 50 of the largest markets, we have a sample of homes with set meters (not people meters) which provide the tuning status (set on/off, channel and time) of TV sets in the home. We collect information about who is viewing from separate samples of homes in these markets with diaries for each TV set. We combine the meter and diary information in a way which projects the diary viewing data adjusted to the meter tuning data.

Accuracy of TV ratings No measurement system is perfect, whether it measures the entire population or just a sample. Errors are always a possibility. When measurement is based on a sample, there is the additional source of error which comes from sampling variation For this reason, Media Research regularly cross-checks the information obtained from different samples and different measurement methods. Remarkably, the ratings produced from more than 100,000 diaries collected from all markets during each sweep month have been similar to the ratings based on 5,000 People Meter homes for the same period of time. Different measurement methods, completely separate samples-and a vast difference in sampling size-yet they both produce similar estimates of audience. In addition to this, we have ongoing audits and quality checks to make sure that all of our procedures are working correctly. people who own their homes and people who live in apartments. Some homes in the panel have children and some don't. Instead, we carefully draw our sample in a way that offers every television household an equal chance of being selected. Once the homes are selected and agree to participate, Media Research protects their privacy by keeping their identities confidential.

Does Nielsen Media Research cancel low rated programs? No. Occasionally some viewers find that a program they watch gets canceled. By estimating the audience, our information helps programmers keep the popular shows on TV, and it also helps them make the difficult decisions to cancel unpopular shows. The irony of the mass medium of television is that a program with "only" a few million viewers may be an unpopular program. It may take ten million viewers for a network or nationally syndicated program to be popular enough to be a business success. But if programmers tried to keep all programs going, the shows that lose money would eventually put the programmers out of business. Media Research ratings are also used by non-commercial television. They can learn about the audience they serve and make better programming decisions.

Benefits of TRP ratings to various sectors Media Research's role is to measure both what is transmitted and what is received. By doing this, we provide the programmers and advertisers with vital feedback on their audience. TV ratings are used like currency in the marketplace of advertisersupported TV. When advertisers want a commercial to reach an audience, they need to place it in TV programs which deliver an audience. The more audience a program delivers, the more the commercial time is worth to advertisers. So the amount charged for advertising is usually a negotiated rate per thousand viewers multiplied by the Nielsen Media Research audience estimate (in thousands). Programs are expensive to produce, whether they attract large audiences or not. In the long run, TV pro Within advertising agencies, TV Ratings are used by strategists, researchers and media planners and buyers to: Provide a demographic profile of target audiences and track their viewing habits Create reach and frequency objectives and set realistic targets Plan advertising campaigns As a tracking device for progressive or post-campaign analysis Provide demographic information for effective media planning Media Research provides a comprehensive service to subscribers, including ratings data, a suite of software analysis tools and an experienced Client Service team to guide clients in understanding and analysing the data. grammers can't pay more for a program than they can earn from selling advertising in it.

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Rating & Share The terms rating and share are basic to the television industry. Both are percentages. A rating is a percent of the universe that is being measured, most commonly discussed as a percent of all television households. As such, a rating is always quantifiable, assuming you know the size of the universe (TV households, persons, women 18 34, and so forth). A share is the percent of households or persons using television at the time the program is airing and who are watching a particular program. Thus, a share does not immediately tie back to an actual number, because it is a percent of a constantly changing number TV sets in use. Shares can be useful as a gauge of competitive standing.

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Mergers & Acquisitions in the Field ACNielsen, a VNU company, and Kantar Media Research (KMR) and Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB), both part of Kantar, WPP's worldwide information and consultancy business, have agreed to form a new joint venture that will offer the most comprehensive measurement of TV audiences and advertising expenditures in India. The new venture plans to combine local TV ratings data from TAM Media Research, a 50-50 joint venture between ACNielsen and KMR/IMRB, with data from ORG-MARG, a VNU company, in a single service across India. The combined TV ratings service will be one of the world's largest to use advanced people meter technology. Company officials said a combined service will benefit all clients broadcasters, agencies and advertisers - because it will provide significant additional coverage of the Indian television market. Coverage will be expanded to all major states in India and virtually all major metropolitan areas, under a plan that will be presented to the industry. The new joint venture will also be the leading provider of advertising expenditure information in India, covering more than 90% of the country's TV and press advertising spending. India is one of 24 major television markets monitored by ACNielsen Media International, the leader in international media measurement and analysis. Together with Nielsen Media Research, which measures television audiences in the United States, the two companies offer the most extensive coverage of the global TV economy. ACNielsen Media International and Nielsen Media Research are part of VNU Media Measurement & Information, the global leader in must-have information for the media and entertainment industries. Active in more than 40 major markets worldwide, and powered by leading-edge technology and specialized expertise, the group serves the information and marketing needs of television and radio broadcasters, advertisers, ad agencies, media planners, music companies, publishers, motionpicture studios, distributors and exhibitors, and the Internet community. Including India, KMR's global media research network provides TV audience measurement services in 27 countries, directly and through its partners. The Kantar Group is responsible for WPP's worldwide information and consultancy interests. The Group is the world's third largest market research organization. Each of the Group's operating companies is a

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leader in its own area of expertise or specialization. The Group has conducted research studies in over 130 countries and retains a staff of over 5,000. The Group encompasses 171 offices in 59 countries. KMR is an integrated global research, information and software group. Directly and through equity positions, it manages research operations in over 30 countries worldwide, specializing in media and survey research solutions, and analysis software systems.

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Case Study On Star India Star Plus is the numero uno in cable tv entertainment in India today. Its shows are always tops in TRP ratings (television ratings). The primary reason for this is not superb programs, quality shows or even expensive soaps. The secret lies in understanding the peoples pulse and responding quickly to it. The popularity of this channel rose with the Balaji Telefilms army Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, Kasauti Zindagi Ki.........Kkusum , Kahin Kisi Roz, Kahin to Hoga. They had the people hooked with these typical soaps with almost similar stories. Consider this: 1) No one dies in star tv soaps ever. 2)People dont mind character rebirths and casting changes bang in the middle. (Remember Mihir,Mandira-Priyanka,Shaina(Kahin Kisi Roz) all reborn 3) The plots are always made by either a former bahu or saas. Now, still people are hooked because changes are made according to audience preference and hence the popularity. Kaun Banega Crorepati with Big B was also a gaming milestone in Indian TV industry and all other channel clones failed miserably in comparison. Now Khul Ja Sim Sim , Jaadu offer a much needed breather from the soaps. Chupa Rustam with the witty Gurpal Singh was the first Indian adaptation of Candid Camera. Again all clones on other channels have failed. Now, Plus has successfully targeted the largest growing audience of children with SON PARI , Shaka Laka Boom Boom , Shh...Koi Hai. These are a bunch of absoloutely nonsensical series but if children like them ....who cares???? Finally, Plus has also broken into the comedy fort (SAB TV read my review) with Khichdi. Trust me...it is excellent with simpleton Prafull and his antics. So, this channel offers entertainment without any frills and despite its stupid soap mass base it deserves its no.1 spot. Pros : Understands its audience Cons Programming Quality Average Program Rating : Super Stupid Soaps : Good programs only during primetime : TV PG -- parental guidance suggested

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Program Cycle Commercial Interruption

: Programs air twice weekly : Medium-length commercial breaks twice per program

1|2| Ranking Programme 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 KYUNKI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI KYUNKI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI KYUNKI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI TVR 10.50 10.10 9.60 Channel Date Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus 200407-13 200407-12 200407-15 200407-13 200407-14 200407-12 200407-13 200407-14 200407-15 200407-14 200407-15 200407-12 200407-13 Day Time Tue 22:31:00 Mon 22:30:00 Thu 22:30:00 Tue 22:01:00 Wed 22:30:00 Mon 22:00:00 Tue 20:31:00 Wed 20:30:00 Thu 22:00:00 Wed 22:00:00 Thu 20:30:00 Mon 20:30:00 Tue 21:01:00

KAHAANI GHAR GHAR 9.60 KI KYUNKI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI 9.50

KAHAANI GHAR GHAR 9.20 KI KASAUTII ZINDAGII KAY KASAUTII ZINDAGII KAY 9.00 8.80

KAHAANI GHAR GHAR 8.80 KI KAHAANI GHAR GHAR 8.70 KI KASAUTII ZINDAGII KAY KASAUTII ZINDAGII KAY KEHTA HAI DIL 8.40 8.20 7.10

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14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

SAARA AKAASH KAHIIN TO HOGA KUMKUM KUMKUM KUMKUM KAHIIN TO HOGA KAHIIN TO HOGA SANJIVANI KAHIIN TO HOGA DES MEIN NIKLA HOGA CHAND BHABHI KUMKUM BHABHI SHARARAT BHABHI BHABHI HATIM KHICHDI SON PARI

6.80 6.40 6.00 5.90 5.60 5.40 5.30 5.30 5.20 5.10 4.90 4.80 4.70 4.60 4.50 4.30 3.80 3.80 3.70

Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star

200407-15 200407-12 200407-13 200407-12 200407-14 200407-15 200407-14 200407-14 200407-13 200407-12 200407-12 200407-15 200407-13 200407-16 200407-14 200407-15 200407-16 200407-13 2004-

Thu 21:00:00 Mon 23:00:00 Tue 13:01:00 Mon 13:00:00 Wed 13:00:00 Thu 23:01:00 Wed 23:00:00 Wed 21:00:00 Tue 23:01:00 Mon 21:00:00 Mon 13:30:00 Thu 13:00:00 Tue 13:31:00 Fri 21:00:00

Wed 13:30:00 Thu 13:30:00 Fri 20:00:00

Tue 20:01:00 Wed 20:00:00

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Plus 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 KESAR KASAUTII ZINDAGII KAY KASAUTII ZINDAGII KAY KESAR KASAUTII ZINDAGII KAY KESAR KESAR SSSHHHH.. KOI HAI...TRIK KASAUTII ZINDAGII KAY HFF ZAMEEN KYUNKI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI KYUNKI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI KYUNKI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI KYUNKI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI KAHIIN TO HOGA KAHIIN TO HOGA KYUN HOTA HAI PYARRR KAHIIN TO HOGA 3.60 3.50 3.40 3.40 3.30 3.10 3.10 3.10 3.00 3.00 2.80 2.70 2.40 2.40 2.30 2.20 2.20 2.20 Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus Star Plus

07-14 200407-13 200407-13 200407-12 200407-14 200407-14 200407-12 200407-15 200407-16 200407-15 200407-17 200407-15 200407-14 200407-12 200407-13 200407-14 200407-12 200407-15 200407-15 Tue 14:01:00 Tue 12:30:00 Mon 12:30:00 Wed 14:00:00 Wed 12:30:00 Mon 14:00:00 Thu 14:00:00 Fri 21:30:00

Thu 12:30:00 Sat 19:59:00

Thu 15:00:00 Wed 15:00:00 Mon 15:00:00 Tue 15:01:00 Wed 15:30:00 Mon 15:30:00 Thu 20:00:00 Thu 15:30:00

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