Seeks electronic chip in newset-top boxes

The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has proposed the installation of a chip in new television set-top boxes to collect data on channels watched, with duration.

A senior official of the Ministry said the move is aimed to get “more authentic” viewership figures for every channel.

“This would help advertisers and the DAVP to spend their advertising expenditure wisely. Only those channels which are widely watched will get promoted,” the official added.

The Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) is the nodal agency of the government for advertising by various Ministries and its organisations.

The proposal was part of the Ministry’s response to a number of recommendations made by the TRAI on issues related to new direct-to-home licenses.

The official said the Ministry also “feels that Doordarshan viewership is under-reported” and if the chip is installed, it would give the real viewership figures of the channel.

The move is seen to end the monopoly of the Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC), which measures the television audience preferences in the country. The ministry official alleged that the BARC is “almost like a monopoly and there is no alternative” and it “does not reveal how they arrive at the viewership figures, methodology they apply and the area of survey”.

But TRAI, in its response to the Ministry’s suggestions, said, “If the MIB [Ministry of Information and Broadcasting] desires TRAI’s recommendation on this issue, it may send a separate reference to TRAI as per the provisions of the TRAI Act, 1997.”