Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai (SD)
Mumbai, Oct 8: Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh said that the police is probing a TRP manipulation scam and identified three channels including Republic TV reportedly involved in distorting the apparatus used by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to rate television channels. The commissioner was speaking in a press conference held on Thursday, October 8.
The commissioner said, "There are 2,000 barometers installed in Mumbai to monitor TRPs. BARC has given confidential contract for monitoring these barometers."
It is reported that the accused would ask some of the households to keep the channel on though they are not at home which would in turn increase the viewership upon which the TRP is calculated. Some households are bribed to keep the channels running at their homes, the commissioner said.
Republic TV's Arnab Goswami
"Two people were arrested, produced in court and the Mumbai Police have got their custody. One accused has been arrested with Rs 20 lakhs seized while Rs 8.5 lakhs has been found in a bank locker," Singh said.
The owners of Marathi channels Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema have been arrested under sections 409 and 420 of IPC. "BARC has submitted that Republic TV is a suspect in TRP manipulation," the Mumbai Police Commissioner said.
Police received the data of these households from BARC, the rating agency. The police suspect that such activities are being carried out in other parts of the country as well.
The investigation is headed by crime branch CIU ACP Shashank while the DCP and JCP are assisting the investigation.
Hansa Research filed the complaint against some of their ex-employees who could have misused the data on the households where the TRP monitoring systems are installed.
Republic officials will be asked to appear before the investigating team after sending the summons. The commissioner said that some TV channels ran fake propaganda to gain ratings but it has now come to light that BARC system being manipulated, and further added that investigations would be carried out against the fraud case.