Mumbai: Minister of communications and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday expressed his reservations over the television rating system in India.
Speaking in Mumbai at Ficci Frames 2016, an annual media and entertainment industry event, Prasad said it was important to established a more robust system of measuring television audiences.
“How can few hundred boxes determine what program is better and why? Please come up with a more reasonable, and fair mechanism for rating of television content,” he said.
Television channels are currently rated by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, a joint industry body set up in 2012 with the specific purpose of designing, commissioning, supervising and owning India’s television audience measurement system.
It brings together the three key stakeholders in audience measurement, broadcasters, advertisers and advertising and media agencies though their respective apex bodies—Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI).
Also on Wednesday, Prasad said digital in India has the potential to be worth $1 trillion in the coming five to six years.
Of that, electronics hardware will make up $400 billion, information technology and IT-enabled services $350 billion and communications $250 billion.
To facilitate movie shootings in India, the government will simplify visa formalities and ensure that visas are quickly granted to movie units, Prasad said.
A new film facilitation office under the NFDC (National Film Development Corporation) is proposed to be set up soon and states that offer the most help and encouragement to film making will be recognized with a national award.
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