Following the emergence of Bangladesh’s private TV industry over two decades ago, advertisers were able to judge the popularity of different programs based on Total Ratings Points (TRP), which measures viewership of different channels. Globally, the TRP system allows advertisers to allocate more ad money to support popular programs, which results in good quality programs being rewarded with more ads -- this is the basis of the modern TV business.
However, measuring TRP requires deployment of sophisticated hardware and software. All over the world, the TRP industry is dominated by a few multinational market research companies, which have built up years of expertise in this complex and specialized field. One of them was providing this service in Bangladesh until the sudden decision by the previous government to hand over this responsibility to the newly formed and completely inexperienced Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL). Unfortunately, the BSCL-built TRP system has proven to be severely flawed, and the local TV industries are incurring large losses as a result.
Concerns have been raised by local TV channels about the BSCL-built TRP system from the very beginning. BSCL claims to detect channels by matching logos on screen, an error-prone method which produces frequent inconsistencies and leads industry stakeholders to doubt the validity of BSCL TRP data. Such inaccuracies have severe repercussions, resulting in incorrect ratings for broadcasters, significant losses in advertising revenue for deserving channels, and long-term damage to Bangladesh's local TV industry.
Recent findings question the authenticity of the overall TRP system, particularly during the political transition. Despite some channels not being on air, suspicious ratings were found for those channels in the BSCL TRP system, proving that the BSCL TRP system is in fact faulty and completely unreliable.
The so-called TRP system run by BSCL relies on an inadequate sample size of only 500 households, which has never reached its targeted deployment, to represent the entire country. This leads to inconsistent and misleading data. Additionally, selection bias towards Wi-Fi-connected homes further skews the results, failing to represent the broader population.
One of them was providing this service in Bangladesh until the sudden decision by the previous government to hand over this responsibility to the newly formed and completely inexperienced Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL)
The whole idea of TRP is that it be a representative sample, which means that the decision to connect only Wi-Fi-connected homes rendered the BSCL TRP unrepresentative and useless. A baseline study required to understand the TV audience and influential variables on TV viewing before household recruitment was also missed. These methodological flaws undermine the credibility of the TRP data, as evidenced by discrepancies observed during the political transition period.
The implications of inaccurate BSCL TRP data are far-reaching and disastrous for the local TV industry. Local TV channels have faced substantial advertising revenue losses, threatening their financial sustainability. This not only harms individual broadcasters, but also jeopardizes the health of the cultural economy. Advertisers rely on TRP data to make informed investment decisions. The unreliable BSCL TRP system is driving advertisers away from local TV, reducing funds for quality content and making the audience further dependent on foreign TV channels. This downward spiral must be corrected by ensuring accurate TRP.
To ensure accurate and reliable TRP measurements in Bangladesh, it is crucial to engage with international expertise. The involvement of established multinational experts in this field would bring transparency and confidence to the ratings system, align Bangladesh with global standards and support the development of the TV industry. By adopting reliable methodologies, the local industry can benefit from robust data analytics, fostering a more vibrant and competitive TV industry in the country.
In the long term, it is certainly possible to develop the knowledge and technology locally to replace foreign service providers, but that should be done after a period of developing local expertise by observing and studying the standard solutions provided by multinational vendors. It’s notable BSCL never did such a detailed study before building its failed TRP system, and this is evidently the reason for its failure. Urgent intervention is now required by the new government to remove the responsibility of producing TRP from BSCL, and open up an international tender for this service.
Zeeshan Hasan is a director of Kazi Farms Group and Kazi Media, the company behind Deepto TV. He is also the managing director of Sysnova.
