Understanding Share-Based Total Rating Points
The Total Rating Points (TRP) system is a metric used in the media industry to measure the reach and impact of television programs, ads, and other media content. The traditional TRP system is an impression-based metric, meaning it measures the number of people who actually saw the content, regardless of how long they watched it. Once the viewership is tallied, the TRP rating is calculated as a percentage of the total target audience. Recently, media companies have begun to recognize the need for a more comprehensive approach to measure the success of media content. This has given rise to the use of share-based TRPs. Share-based TRPs measure the share of people who watched each program, advertisement, or other media content in relation to the total viewership. To understand share-based TRPs, it helps to break the metric down into two different components:
- Share of Viewers: This metric measures how many people watched a particular program or advertisement compared to the total number of people who watched television during the same time period. It is typically expressed as a percentage.
- Share of Viewing Time: This metric measures how much total time viewers spent watching a particular program or advertisement compared to the total amount of time viewers spent watching television during the same time period. It is typically expressed as a percentage.
By combining the share of viewers and the share of viewing time, media companies can gain a better understanding of the impact of their content and the audience’s engagement with it. The share-based TRPs provide an overall picture of the program or advertisement’s performance in relation to the total viewership. Share-based TRPs are particularly useful for measuring the success of content that has been heavily promoted or has had a short airing time. This is because the traditional TRP system only captures the initial viewership and does not account for the long-term success of the content. With share-based TRPs, media companies are able to track the performance of their content beyond the initial airing. Overall, share-based TRPs are a valuable tool for media companies to measure the success of their content in relation to the total viewership. By combining both the share of viewers and share of viewing time, media companies can gain a comprehensive understanding of the impact of their content. Examples:
- ABC news show aired on Tuesday night and earned a share-based TRP of 8%
- A 30-second commercial aired during ABC news show and earned a share-based TRP of 5%
References: