TVR (Television Viewing Rating) is the percentage of a defined target group watching a programme at a given minute. BARC India calculates TVR by dividing the number of target group individuals estimated to be watching by the total TG universe, then multiplying by 100.
Formula: TVR = (TG viewers at a given minute) ÷ (TG universe) × 100
Example: TG = All Individuals 15+ in Urban India (universe ≈ 380 million). If 3.8 million are watching at 9pm: TVR = 1.0. The same programme might have TVR 1.5 for Women 25–44 and TVR 0.6 for Men 15–24 — TVR changes with TG definition.
TVR vs GRP vs TRP
TVR is for a single programme slot. GRP (Gross Rating Points) is the sum of TVRs across all spots in a campaign — total exposure weight. TRP is the same calculation for a specific target audience. In popular Indian media coverage, "TRP" is often misused to mean viewership ranking; technically, TRP = GRPs for a target audience.
CPRP vs CPM
CPRP (Cost Per Rating Point) = Total Spend ÷ Total GRPs. The standard TV efficiency metric. CPM can be derived from CPRP using the TG universe size. TV CPMs based on CPRP are not directly comparable to digital CPMs — a TV impression is a 30-second non-skippable exposure; a digital CPM is typically a 2-second viewable impression.