The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, has decided to take up the TRP racket case, according to PTI quoting sources. The committee is likely to summon officials of BARC India and I&B Ministry along with whistleblower.
Earlier on Friday, Congress MP and member of the panel Karti Chidambaram had requested Tharoor to take up the matter and call the officials of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry before the committee to seek clarification and remedial measures.
The government’s advertising expenditure depends on this system, and public spending should not be based on flawed data, Chidambaram said.”Flawed or manipulated TRP cannot be the basis of ad spend. TV companies also base their valuations on TRP. Those valuations are questionable now,” he added.
Echoing similar sentiments, former Information and Broadcasting minister and Congress MP Manish Tewari said the entire paradigm of TRP has vitiated the broadcasting industry, especially the news media, and it should be seriously taken up by Parliament and the government.
