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‘Needed a new ratings currency’
She is one lady who doesn’t hesitate in speaking her mind and believes in calling a spade a spade. In this article, penned for Indiantelevision.com, Lintas Media Group director Lynn de Souza strongly opines that with the fast-changing media landscape; either a new television ratings system needs to be in place or Tam India needs to pull up its socks and soon enough.
There can be no two ways about it. Our current television audience measurement system must transform itself radically, or go. In 2006, the Chinese year of the dog, I predict that the definition of television audiences itself will change – its measurement therefore must change too.
The term ‘audience’ is a passive one way thing. It conjures up images of ‘lying back and thinking of England,’ while the man in the box dishes it out. ‘Viewership’ is no different. It implies that the only sense one uses while interacting with one’s television set is that of eyesight.
Digital TV and DTH will add sound and light and interactivity to the idiot box, making it as intelligent as our laptops and PDA’s. Viewers have already piled on to the SMS response bandwagon in billions. Actively engaging oneself with the medium, finding the channels and programs that one identifies with – these are not just confined to the urban top end. Just as cellular technology gave us the ability to deliver reach in surprising quantities at one end, coupled with unforeseen quality in value added services at the other end, simply by enabling different types of receivers depending on what you can afford, so too will DTH do the same to television.
When audiences lie passive, one needs to use an active system to measure them. The peoplemeter we have been using till now does just that. A sample respondent has to punch a button before his viewership starts getting recorded and punch himself off when he stops viewing. When audiences turn active, the measurement system has to become passive – it has to have the ability to measure without interference. That’s the first and important change. Canada has already moved into the portable peoplemeter system, and the successful Houston experiment will soon see the whole of the US questioning the longevity of the sweeps-cum-Nielsen meter approach.
The line between consumers as audiences and consumers as consumers will also blur, as television networks find themselves partnering advertisers more and more closely to deliver both content and consumers to each other. The Media Research User’s Council has set up a special committee to look at measurement. This committee calls itself the Television Consumer Assessment Committee, recognizing that there will be no such thing as an audience in the near future. There will be only people who consume goods and services including television programming and interactive content.
This will lead to a third and very important change. Till now, India is one of the few countries where the measurement currency is advertising agency supported. Undoubtedly, this has had its roots in the historical support given to the TAM service by lead advertisers and agencies. The service has therefore built its strengths, skills and expertise in areas that would appeal to this community, developing and investing in tools and training systems largely geared to making better media planning decisions.
This unfortunately is a business model without a future. With the revenue models of media agencies already under threat, how can one expect this group of users to continue to fund and invest in this service and its growth? The megabucks have got to come from the networks – the creators and distributors of television signals. The megabucks will only come from this latter group if the service provides them answers to far more difficult marketing and consumer behaviour questions than a simple currency can provide. A currency based on a sample that does not even adequately cover India by a long shot.
The networks will not want fancy media planning software. They will want to know that even as the Indian sky gets clogged with more and more channels each getting less and less share, the system and the sample are robust enough to capture it all, in all its intricacies, with reliability and stability. They will want to know what makes television consumers come to a place and stay there. They will want expressions, not impressions.
And guess what? So will the advertiser and his media agency.
Happy New Year, TAM! It’s high time you got yourself a new collar.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
