BSCL is also prepared to provide technical support for the broadcasting of foreign channels with clean feed, the minister said.

Target rating points (TRPs) are critical in evaluating audience numbers for channels and time slots.

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“The private organisations that are preparing TRPs of TV channels talk about collecting a big set of samples. But BSCL has informed us that the organisations only collected 164 samples to make TRPs. This is unacceptable,” Hasan Mahmud said.

The minister made the comments while briefing the media at BSCL after visiting the monitoring cell of the company at Nazrul Islam Avenue in Dhaka.

“We need to work on at least 10,000 samples to prepare TRPs, given the size of our population. In India, 70,000 to 80,000 samples are collected continuously, and TRP is made accordingly.”

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The minister added: “An unscientific and mysterious way is being followed for preparing TRPs in our country. We are trying to make it transparent, and a committee has already been formed.”

“And BSCL is ready to give its full support for the continuous collection of 10,000 samples.” 

About the implementation of clean feed of foreign channels, the minister said, “We have stopped the screening of Bangladeshi advertisements through foreign channels.”

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“But the advertisements of foreign products are still being broadcast here. But the law does not approve of this. And we are working on this.”

However, BSCL said it would help create clean feed if needed. However, it is the responsibility of the channels – that took licence to broadcast in Bangladesh – to air clean feed, following the law of the country, Hasan Mahmud said.

Written by M-FA, edited by MA