TRP reboot: Will MIB’s new rules make advertisers trust TV again?

For advertisers who collectively spend Rs 1,08,000 crore (Pitch Madison Report), audience measurement isn’t just data, it’s currency. Every media plan, from FMCG launches to election-season campaigns, rests on one question: where does the rupee perform best?

And increasingly, that answer has been digital. Real-time dashboards, click-level attribution, and outcome-based targeting have made traditional TV ratings look like relics of a slower age.

Now, with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s proposed overhaul of the Television Rating Points (TRP) policy, the government is betting it can restore faith in TV measurement and perhaps reclaim some of the credibility lost to digital.

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A bigger, cleaner TRP system

The draft amendment proposes to expand India’s TV rating panel to 1.2 lakh households, exclude landing-page viewership from TRPs, and bar broadcasters from any role in measurement. The ministry says this is meant to ensure transparency, neutrality, and a truer reflection of audience choice.

Under the new norms, every Television Rating Agency would begin with at least 80,000 panel homes within 18 months of registration, adding 10,000 annually until it reaches 1.2 lakh.

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Advertisers cautiously optimistic

While advertisers welcome the intent, many say the success of the new TRP system will depend on its execution and on whether it can match the agility and precision of digital measurement.

Nikita Gupta, Assistant Vice President, Tata Capital, says, “If implemented well, this is a positive step towards restoring faith in TV measurement. Expanding the sample base and removing broadcaster involvement will definitely make data more representative and unbiased. 

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But advertisers today are used to real-time, outcome-driven digital metrics, so while this move can rebuild trust, it won’t stop the gradual shift towards digital unless TV ratings evolve into a cross-platform, real-time measurement system.”

On the existing rating system, she added, “Counting landing page viewership was like rewarding forced visibility over genuine choice. It inflated reach without reflecting true attention. Removing it is less a tweak and more a credibility cleanse, it finally aligns TRPs with what brands actually value: authentic, intent-driven viewership.”

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Manesh Swamy, Co-founder and Director, First AI Consultancy Services, believes the new TRP framework can help restore advertiser confidence, if it’s implemented with integrity.

“If these rules are executed sincerely, they can definitely rebuild trust,” he said. “A wider sample base will make the data more representative, excluding landing-page numbers removes inflated visibility, and keeping broadcasters out adds much-needed neutrality.”

However, Swamy was quick to point out that digital’s momentum is unlikely to slow down.

“Let’s be honest, digital’s charm isn’t fading anytime soon. Platforms like digital and connected TV deliver instant analytics, granular targeting, and creative flexibility that linear television can’t match. So while the new TRP norms might help advertisers regain confidence, most will still use TV primarily for reach, not as their single source of truth.”

He added that the smartest marketers will increasingly strike a hybrid balance between TV and digital.

“Think of it like a good masala mix, use television for scale and storytelling, and rely on digital or CTV for precision and accountability. The combination is what makes campaigns both efficient and memorable.”

Swamy also reflected on the shortcomings of the older system, especially its dependence on landing-page counts.

“Counting landing-page hits as viewership was always flawed, it’s like giving a movie five stars just because people saw its poster,” he said. 

“It rewarded accidental exposure instead of actual attention, which inflated TRPs and gradually eroded advertiser trust. What’s needed now is strict technical filtering and third-party audits to ensure that landing-page impressions are completely excluded,” he added. 

Backing the MIB proposal, Anil Solanki, Senior Director, Dentsu X, said: “The proposed TRP overhaul is a welcome step toward restoring credibility and transparency in TV measurement. Expanding the panel to 1.2 lakh households and removing broadcaster involvement will make data far more representative and independent — a move that can genuinely rebuild advertiser confidence in the medium. Eliminating landing page viewership is equally important, as those inflated impressions never reflected true audience engagement. This clean-up will ensure ratings finally mirror real content performance rather than tactical placement.”

As for Krishnarao Buddha (BK Rao), former Senior Category Head, Marketing, Parle Products Pvt Ltd, “The new framework is certainly a step in the right direction. Excluding landing page data and modernizing the sample base will help, but the trust gap isn’t easily erased, digital’s accountability sets a new standard that TV ratings must aspire to if they wish to remain central in advertiser decision-making.”

Sharing another aspect, Buddha said that advertisers are expected to increasingly adopt a cross-media approach, TV, digital, and streaming, seeking robust, integrated measurement rather than relying on any single metric. “The rating system’s legitimacy hinges on whether these reforms are implemented with strict oversight and are technically sound.”

A leading media buyer put it more bluntly: “The reality is that digital is growing, this only corroborates that. It’s not something new, it simply gives digital a measurement language. It won’t impact advertisers because TV and digital already coexist seamlessly. We have other ways to measure viewership. Both platforms complement each other, and that will continue. We won’t change our plans just because the measurement isn’t there. We’re already measuring digital separately, it’s live data, not a panel. So I don’t see why we even need a panel,” they said.

The bigger picture

The MIB’s draft, open for industry feedback since July 2, also seeks to delete ownership-conflict clauses from the 2014 Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies, simplifying governance. But even as the reforms promise transparency, the larger structural shift is clear, advertisers are moving from medium-specific metrics to cross-media accountability.

Whether the TRP reboot can slow that momentum depends on how fast television’s measurement systems evolve to meet digital’s standards of precision and proof.

For now, India’s market seems to agree on one thing, the future of measurement isn’t TV versus digital, but both speaking the same language of real-time audience truth.