Mumbai: Mumbai police said they have busted a racket where three channels— Republic TV, Fakht Marathi and Box Cinema-— manipulated Television Rating Points (TRP), a measure of viewership that drives advertising revenues, and arrested four people.
The Mumbai police have arrested two television channel owners while the directors and promoters of the third channel – Republic TV – will be investigated for allegedly manipulating television rating points or TRPs.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh said, “The arrested accused are owners of Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema channels while Republic TV’s directors and promoters are yet to be questioned. We will be calling some of the employees of the Republic TV channels for inquiry.”
The police swung into action after rating agency Hansa Services Private Limited, a contractor of BARC, which functions under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) filed a complaint.
Singh said TRP manipulation allowed these channels to fraudulently boost viewership numbers and attract more advertisements. Families, including those residing in slums, were paid Rs 400 to Rs 700 a month to keep these channels switched on.
An illiterate person also kept English channels continuously on at home, Singh said. The police chief said the money earned through advertisements in a fraudulent manner would be considered as proceeds of crime.