Why is TRP important for advertisers?

It shows what share of the people you want to reach are watching a show. That lets you compare channels on cost per rating point (CPRP) instead of on price alone. In a made-up example, ₹40,000 for a TRP of 2 is ₹20,000 a point, which beats ₹25,000 for a TRP of 1.

What is the difference between TRP and reach?

TRP tells you what share of the audience watched at a point in time. Reach tells you how many different people saw your ad at least once over the campaign. Frequency tells you how many times, on average, each of those people saw it. Most people in India still say TRP, although TVR is the stricter term.

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TRPfull form and meaning

Television Rating Point: how India counts who watched.

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Definition

TRP full form is Television Rating Point. A TRP is the percentage of a chosen audience that watched a TV programme, channel or ad in a given time. If a show has a TRP of 5, then 5% of that audience watched it.

Channels use TRPs to show how popular a show is and to price their ad slots. Advertisers and media agencies use them to decide where to put their money. A show with higher TRPs usually charges more for ad time.

Strictly, the industry measure today is often called TVR (television rating) or impressions, but most people in India still say TRP.

Who measures TRP in India?

BARC India, the Broadcast Audience Research Council. It is an industry body set up by broadcasters, advertisers and advertising agencies, and it has released TV ratings since April 2015. BARC places meters in a sample of homes and projects the viewing to all TV homes.

How do advertisers use TRP?

Media planners add up the ratings of every spot in a campaign to get GRPs (gross rating points). They then compare channels on CPRP (cost per rating point): how much it costs to reach 1% of the target audience.

A made-up example: a spot costs ₹40,000 and delivers a TRP of 2 among women aged 25 to 44 in West Bengal. The CPRP is ₹40,000 ÷ 2 = ₹20,000. Another channel's spot costs ₹25,000 for a TRP of 1, so its CPRP is ₹25,000. The first spot is the better buy for that audience, even though it costs more.

TRP vs reach

TRP tells you what share of the audience watched at a point in time.
Reach tells you how many different people saw your ad at least once over the campaign.
Frequency tells you how many times, on average, each of those people saw it.

Related terms

BARC: the body that measures TV viewing in India.
Gross rating points (GRP): the total rating points of all spots in a campaign.
TVC: a television commercial, the ad itself.

See what TV airtime costs in our guide to TV advertising cost in India, or how we plan it on our TV advertising page.

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Straight answers.

Television Rating Point.
BARC India (Broadcast Audience Research Council), an industry body set up by broadcasters, advertisers and advertising agencies. It has released TV ratings since April 2015. BARC places meters in a sample of homes and projects the viewing to all TV homes. Advertisers and media agencies then use the ratings to decide where to put their money.
It shows what share of the people you want to reach are watching a show. That lets you compare channels on cost per rating point (CPRP) instead of on price alone. In a made-up example, ₹40,000 for a TRP of 2 is ₹20,000 a point, which beats ₹25,000 for a TRP of 1.
TRP tells you what share of the audience watched at a point in time. Reach tells you how many different people saw your ad at least once over the campaign. Frequency tells you how many times, on average, each of those people saw it. Most people in India still say TRP, although TVR is the stricter term.