MxMIndia

Category: NDTV v/s TAM

  • The controversy and litigation over television viewership measurement may lead to question marks being raised on the final selection of the vendor for the unified print readership study

    NDTV-TAM war impact may be seen in print if Nielsen is appointed IRS research vendor

    By A Correspondent

     

    Measurement has suddenly become a bad word in the Indian media. Over the last month, there has been much sound and fury over TAM Media’s television ratings with news network NDTV filing a 194-page lawsuit in New York. Since last week, the channel and WPP, principals of TAM’s part-owner Kantar, have been sparring via statements issued to the media.

     

    But now MxMIndia learns that there could be rumblings in the print space too, over the appointment of the research company to conduct the unified Indian Readership Survey.

     

    The Board of the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) which manages the Readership Studies Council of India (RSCI) is scheduled to meet today and announce the results of the contract following the RFP (Request for Proposals) issued last year.

     

    In a departure from the prevailing system of the research body being a partner and pocketing 85 percent of the revenues earned from sales, in the proposed system, the researcher was to be vendor being paid a flat fee. Hansa which has been conducting the study for MRUC since around eight years tied up with Ipsos and presented a joint proposal demanding a fee of Rs 10 crore. Nielsen’s original proposal was of Rs 12 crore, but the research major has been beaten down to a little below Rs 11 crore.

     

    However, ever since the news of the appointment of Nielsen was leaked last week, it appears that the controversy plaguing the television media research space could well lead to rumblings in print if it is indeed Nielsen which will be awarded the contract.

     

    MxMIndia too learns from its sources that Nielsen will indeed be appointed vendor for the IRS. The relationship is not of partnership as of now, but that of a client-vendor, where the research company has to undertake the exercise as per a set of instructions and for a fee. A global tender was issued and a technical committee carefully pored over each of the proposals. Various proposals came in but were rejected. The Hansa-IPSOS proposal reportedly did not find favour with the decision-makers because of the consortium modeit followed. It is believed that there was opposition to Hansa from some quarters.

     

    An MRUC member this correspondent spoke with raised some alarm. “While the work put in by the technical committee is commendable and selfless, they ought to have considered the mess that Nielsen has been in thanks to its co-ownership of TAM Media. The 194-page lawsuit sees the firm getting noteworthy mention. Moreover, there have been question marks over the retail audit too,” he said on condition of anonymity. “But it would be wrong to jump to conclusions on Nielsen’s appointment. If it is indeed true, we will raise the questions and convince ourselves. We clearly wish to be certain of the new vendors’ expertise in newspaper readership measurement – either globally or in India. We can’t afford to have any publisher, advertiser or agency questioning the measurement exercise and the bona fides of the vendor as has been the case with television.”

     

    That last bit we agree with. The WPP statement came in at 10.43 pm IST last night.

     

  • WPP and NDTV bring the battle over TAM ratings from the courtrooms to feeding the media with statements countering the other

    NDTV v/s WPP: War of words over the Weekend

    By A Correspondent

     

    I need another holiday, I told the boss.

    But why, he asked?

     

    Because since the time I thought I could bring in the weekend with a drink, the inbox has been inundated with statements from both NDTV and WPP.

     

    Wait, why WPP? The case was against Kantar, right?

     

    Oh, yes, it is. But Kantar is a subsidiary of WPP. And while it’s a listed conglomerate, Sir Martin Sorrell is bossman and he decides what WPP will do.

     

    So while it was good to see the Big WPP Boss himself getting his hands dirty, I was a little surprised to see him speak to the Indian media on the issue. Interviews with Sir Sorrell don’t happen daily, so who wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity.

     

    In one of the interviews, the WPP boss has even suggested that since NDTV’s lawyers essentially deal with litigations for restaurants, the lawsuit has been served correctly.

     

    Ah, well.

     

    Here are the six statements:

     

    26 Aug: Statement saying WPP takes India extremely seriously. That it is “ludicrous” to say WPP is taking India lightly

     

    25 Aug: WPP reacts to the 6 points raised in NDTV’s statement of the same day. Statement says Eric Salama responded to a mail sent by Vikram Chandra on July 27

     

    25 Aug: NDTV responds to WPP’s statement of 24 August (as well as to media interviews). Stings WPP and Sorrel, and sad to read these words: we request Sir Martin not to take India lightly. We request him to clean up his ratings operation in our country and to refrain from using his global PR clout to perpetuate corruption in his India ratings operation

     

    24 Aug: WPP issues a statement in Q&A form. Asserts NDTV’s decline is not down to any perceived failures in TAM data. In an interview with Mint, Sorrell says: “Nothing has been served properly. Nothing at all, that is why we call it a hypothetical lawsuit. The two-lawyer firm (engaged by NDTV) is based in Florida and it specializes in restaurant law. This is an Indian issue, not American. It is a bit of mischief on their part.”

     

    23 Aug: NDTV responds to WPP’s statement. “We request that WPP should focus on honestly fixing (for want of a better word!) their badly damaged and dishonest ratings system in India.”

     

    22 Aug: WPP statement on the NDTV’s “hypothetical” law suit. Says: “WPP is also giving active consideration to issuing proceedings against NDTV for defamation and has instructed its lawyers accordingly.”

     

  • The war of words between NDTV and WPP entered its second week with statements from both being sent out to the media.

    NDTV, WPP trade statements yet again

    By A Correspondent

     

    On television, Dr Prannoy Roy is a gentleman-anchor. He apologises – with a sorry to interrupt – as he interjects while a guest is speaking. Quite unlike some others who are aggressive and don’t care a fig even with celebrated guests.

     

    So if you thought that the on-screen image of Dr Roy and his channel would also be the way his company would act in the ongoing litigation with TAM and its principals and war of words with global advertising conglomerate WPP, you’re mistaken.

     

    Last evening, we received two statements… one each from NDTV and WPP.

     

    First the one from NDTV. Clear here for the statement (PDF version)

     

    And then the WPP reply (again a PDF). Click here:

     

    We don’t really know why WPP chose to get involved in this war of statements but now that it has, no one seems to be complaining!

     

    PS:

    The following are the statements issued by NDTV and WPP so far:

     

  • With the war of words between NDTV and WPP never-ending, industry leaders must intervene… else the government will

    MxM Comment: Enough of trading charges. Industry needs to bring warring partners to the table

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    It’s the kind of content that’s been seeing our hit rates go up, but I seriously think enough is enough. It is time the industry gets together and brings warring partners to the table. It’s important that either an industry body like IBF or AAAI or someone who would earn the respect of all parties concerned were to convene this. MxMIndia would have been happy to take the lead, but we’d rather be an independent observer than a participant. Although both Star and Madison do have active linkages with NDTV and WPP respectively, I would think Messrs Sam Balsara and Uday Shankar would do well to take the lead. For, the current blamegame and exchange of unpleasantries can continue forever, and we could still be struggling for solutions.

     

    What’s worse is that Sir Martin Sorrell is himself being dragged into the war of words. So an NDTV statment rubbishes what Sorrell and WPP have to say. And WPP (and Sir Sorrell) haven’t hesitated from commenting on NDTV’s fortunes and its lawyers. Thankfully, Dr Prannoy Roy’s name hasn’t been pulled in yet. But for how long?

     

    Representatives from all stakeholders have privately confided to this writer and corroborated MxMIndia’s original standpoint that it’s the system that’s ought to be blamed for the mess the industry is in and not just TAM. I may even stick my neck out and say that from the information I have, the TAM management isn’t corrupt, though there one may not rule out the presence of some rotten apples in the rank and file. The only way to eliminate that is by a process that has a reasonable number of checks and balances.

     

    TAM’s problem is that for too long it has not had a joint stakeholder body (BARC, earlier Joint Industry Body) governing it and providing it a frame of reference for operations. In the recent past, with the exit of aMap, it’s been a monopolistic play but you can’t blame TAM for that. The industry didn’t patronise aMap well enough.

     

    News broadcasters are particularly peeved with the current measurement system because their demand for a stop to weekly ratings wasn’t accepted by TAM. TAM, on its part, said if all stakeholders – broadcasters, advertisers and agencies – were unanimous, they would make the switch.

     

    WPP is huge in India – Group M, Ogilvy and WPP and several other outfits. The aggregate employee strength is 12,000 and revenues are of around $500million. NDTV too has a reputation of being a quality broadcaster. I am sure neither is taking the Indian market lightly.

     

    Now let’s avoid a bloodbath of words.

     

    PS: I have another worry. The news broadcasters have already asked the Minister of Information and Broadcasting to intervene in the measurement issue. While one appreciates the sentiments of the NBA, asking the government to step in can be suicidal. If the government finds the war of words between statekholders never-ending, it may well do that and last week’s example with blocking Twitter ids is a fair indicator of how governments can act.

     

  • WPP responds to NDTV's statement which in turn had rubbised WPP's earlier statement

    Day 3: Now WPP responds to NDTV salvo

    So you read what NDTV said about WPP’s statement. Now here’s what we just received from WPP in Q&A form to make for better understanding of the situation.

     

     

    Q1. In its press statement, NDTV has said, while they claim that the suit has not been served, WPP surely knows, or should know, that service was indeed made on the 10th of August in New York, and processes under the Hague Convention are also underway. What is the exact situation?

     

    Answer:

    We are aware that the New York lawyers acting for NDTV have filed affidavits of service with the New York court claiming to have served the proceedings on various WPP companies. Despite this, valid service has not taken place and we will be drawing the Court’s attention to these inadequate and misleading statements in our motion to dismiss the claims in their entirety.

     

    There has been a faulty, and clumsy, attempt to serve on one company, but nothing on the others at all. No lawyer acting on behalf of any WPP company has made any such statement. In fact, Kantar Media (Research) UK is not even named as a party to any lawsuit.

     

    We are taking the unusual step of proceeding to dismiss the hypothetical lawsuit, despite the lack of any valid service, simply due to the attempted “trial by media”, which has been generated by the (unserved) lawsuit. In any event, there is no merit in the purported claims, nor do the US courts have any jurisdiction to hear any such claims.

     

    Any claim should be made properly, in India, in front of the Indian courts, which are more than capable of properly hearing any valid claim.

     

    NDTV appears to be blaming their poor financial performance on the ratings. NDTV’s financial state shows a dramatic decline, with its market capitalisation declining from around US $800 million in early 2008 to around US$60 million today. Over the same period NDTV’s share price has declined from a high of Rs 512.70 to around Rs 50 today. NDTV is operating in an extremely competitive market, and its competitors have also been in a difficult position. However, NDTV’s decline is not down to any perceived failures in TAM data.

     

    Q2.Where and when does WPP plan to file the defamation lawsuit?

     

    Answer: As referred to in its statement, WPP is considering an action for defamation and this consideration will include the appropriate jurisdiction.

     

    3. Why doesn’t the operating TAM file the case?

    Answer: TAM will be considering its own action.

     

    4. You say that WPP plans to file an application in New York to strike out the NDTV lawsuit. When will that happen?

    Answer: The application is imminent.

     

    5. What else do you plan to do?

    Answer: WPP is disappointed about the “trial by media” which has been initiated by NDTV. As we have said, TAM has been, and will continue to be, committed to working with the industry to improve the use of technology, coverage and transparency of the TAM data. A series of additional steps has very recently been agreed with the industry.

    WPP is committed to working with all industry stakeholders: we would be very happy to work with the mooted BARC structure: we work extremely well with similar bodies all over the world and would be happy to do so in India.

     

    6. You said in your statement “TAM has taken and continues to take stringent measures to protect the panel against repeated attempts at tampering by currently unknown parties and has recently agreed a series of additional steps with the industry to remove any question marks about the quality and reliability of the TAM data.” The timing of announcing these steps makes it look like TAM is responding to NDTV’s lawsuit. Why didn’t TAM take these steps earlier?

     

    Answer: In fact the steps referred to are just the latest action in an ongoing process of dialogue and improvement in the collection of data and not simply a reaction to the hypothetical lawsuit referred to in the press

     

     

    Now, don’t be surprised if you find an NDTV statement tomorrow… our inboxes are waiting! But, on a serious note, all of this is sad. And sad for the Indian broadcasting sector.

  • PR is clearly the main aim, as the WPP statement contains a number of legal flaws, NDTV notes, asking WPP to correct its "badly damaged and dishonest ratings system in India"

    Battle of courts spills to media statements, as NDTV rubbishes WPP claims

    By A Correspondent

     

    It was meant to be a battle fought in the courtrooms, but not unexpectedly, it’s now got down to the streets. It started with a statement issued by WPP on Wednesday, and on Thursday, news broadcaster NDTV too issued a statement.

     

    We publish it as is, so that none of the finer details are lost:

    NDTV is baffled and amused by the PR effort by WPP. PR is clearly the main aim, as the WPP statement contains a number of legal flaws.

     

    It is indeed strange that they term the suit as hypothetical as it is available for everyone to read in full on the website of the Supreme Court of New York (as reported first by the Hollywood Reporter and read by many since). In fact it appears as though WPP must have read it too as they refer too many details in the NDTV complaint and respond with several false denials!

     

    Moreover, while they claim that the suit has not been served, they surely know, or should know, that service was indeed made on the 10th of August in New York, and processes under the Hague Convention are also underway as is the normal procedure. Moreover, the lawyers for Kantar Media Research (UK), have already confirmed to NDTV that the service on their client was acceptable in New York. In fact, matters have progressed much beyond ‘service’; the lawyers for Nielsen have been in touch with our lawyers and have requested for an extension. In addition, the CEO of Kantar has been in touch with us and has acknowledged receiving the complaint. NDTV has affidavits to substantiate this.

     

    While many may attribute sinister motives to WPP’s Statement which is full of factual and legal errors, NDTV would give them the benefit of the doubt and assume WPP has made a silly error which simple cross-checking through their internal systems will soon correct. If all else fails, for details of the complaint we suggest they visit the Supreme Court of New York’s website where the “non-hypothetical” complaint is detailed in full.

     

    We suggest WPP refrain from using their massive PR machine to make baseless threats against NDTV. Instead we request that WPP should focus on honestly fixing (for want of a better word!) their badly damaged and dishonest ratings system in India – which in their Statement they acknowledge they have control over and is their responsibility.

     

  • Statement says WPP or its operating companies haven't been served any law suit as of yesterday

    WPP takes on NDTV, mulls defamation suit. Says NY courts have no jurisdiction on claims against it

    By  A Correspondent

     

    TAM Media Research’s part-owner WPP (via Kantar Market Research) finally broke its silence on the law suit filed by NDTV Limited in New York, USA.

     

    The statement asserted that the suit has, as of yesterday, not been served on WPP or any of its operating companies. And added: “There is no merit, whatsoever, in any of the claims made in the hypothetical Law Suit relating to the WPP Parties, nor do the courts of New York have any jurisdiction to hear any such claims.”

     

    “Despite the lack of any valid service, the WPP Parties are in the process of issuing an immediate application to strike out the hypothetical Law Suit and will be seeking their costs in so doing,” it said.

     

    Meanwhile, WPP is also active considering initiating legal proceedings against NDTV for defamation and has instructed its lawyers accordingly, the statement said further.

     

    The statement records the TAM being “proud of the service it has been delivering to the market for 14 years, and the way in which investment in technology has been applied to the service”. In a response to some of the charges levied in the NDTV suit, the statement says: “As recent developments indicate, TAM is committed to working with the industry to continuously improve the use of technology, coverage and transparency. TAM has taken and continues to take stringent measures to protect the panel against repeated attempts at tampering by currently unknown parties and has recently agreed a series of additional steps with the industry to remove any question marks about the quality and reliability of the TAM data.” The last bit pointing to the six action points that came out of the meeting with the ISA and AAAI last week.

     

  • Ms Soni said that she always had issues with the number of boxes put up by TAM, as it (such a small number) was not enough to gauge the mood of a diverse nation like India

    Government concerned about TAM data: Ambika Soni

    By Vijaya Rathore

     

    The government has been concerned about the discrepancies in TAM Media Research’s TV viewership data for a while now, and has even questioned their methodology and transparency, Union information & broadcasting minister Ambika Soni said on Wednesday.

     

    In an exclusive interview to ET, Ms Soni said that she always had issues with the number of boxes put up by TAM, as it (such a small number) was not enough to gauge the mood of a diverse nation like India.  “I have asked questions about the methodology of TAM. I knew that they were not being transparent. When it came to the number of boxes, rural areas were not covered. Very populated states such as UP and Bihar were not covered.

     

    So, I felt that 7,000 boxes could hardly be indicative. How can you put boxes as conveniently as you want to and not cover more than half of the country?” the minister asked.

     

    Following NDTV’s lawsuit against Nielsen and Kantar Media – the co-owners of TAM Media Research – the I&B ministry has decided to support Prasar Bharati, the state broadcaster and the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP), the government’s media buying arm, to take legal action against TAM. Ms Soni said that the ministry is also open to support the broadcasters “provided they lodge a formal complaint with the government against TAM.”

     

    NDTV has filed a lawsuit against the companies in a New York court alleging TAM fudged TV viewership data to favour a few broadcasters for a bribe. Both NDTV and TAM have refused to comment on the issue.

     

    Concerned by the developments, broadcasters and advertisers are now asking TAM to stop publishing its data, and have been meeting the government on the issue.

     

    “Today everybody is talking about TAM… why didn’t we talk about it all this while? The issue was raised by the ministry and me several times in the past. I am glad that this issue is now coming out in the open, as this clearly shows that there is need for competition,” Ms Soni said.

     

    According to the minister, lack of transparency in TAM’s system does not only concern broadcasters, advertisers and media agencies, but also Prasar Bharati that operates Doordarshan and All India Radio.

     

    “Prasar Bharati is collecting facts and the figures and finally even they decide to put up a lawyer. We will have to allocate resources for which permissions have to be taken. If Prasar Bharati and DAVP feel that they have to take a legal action (against TAM), they will do so in consultation with the I&B ministry and the law ministry,” she said. In 2011-12, DAVP’s advertising spend was Rs 618 crore.

     

    Ms Soni said that there is a need to have an alternative to TAM, which is why Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) is underway: “We have had several meetings with the Indian Broadcasting Federation on BARC. I have had four meetings (from 2010-12).”

     

    Asked if she thought a tighter regulatory mechanism needs to be evolved to check such discrepancies in future, the minister said, “There have been  suggestions for setting up regulatory bodies for content, and to censor realty shows, but the government is against any strong regulatory mechanism and we are for self-regulation.”

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • The crisis thanks to NDTV taking TAM and its principals to court is the biggest that Indian commercial television has faced thus far. The six action points are too little, too late, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Mediaah! | Ratings controversy: Too little too late

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    That the meeting last week where the ISA and AAAI met with TAM did not have the IBF in attendance made one wonder whether all was still not well between the three bodies on the constitution of BARC, and perhaps television measurement itself. This despite the fact all key officebearers from the three apex bodies of advertising, ad agencies and broadcasters have been working overtime to make it happen.

     

    The controversy that’s erupted thanks to NDTV taking TAM and its principals to court is the biggest that Indian commercial television has faced thus far.

     

    And the governmental threat of setting up a TRAI-like Broadcasters’ Regulatory Authority of India is for real. Ideally it ought to be a Media Regulatory Authority of India which will also include newspapers, radio and the digital media in its fold, but successive governments and bureaucrats are too scared of taking on newspaper barons and editors. It’s the threat of a government-imposed regulator that got warring Hindi news channels Aaj Tak and India TV to smoke the peace pipe. If a TRAI-like regulator happens, all media entities know that could face a tough time.

     

    I don’t want to get into the merits of the NDTV v/s TAM, etc case. The matter’s sub-judice and discussed to death.

     

    The action points that TAM came up with on Friday may buy some peace for the moment, but it’s a case of too little too late (link: http://www.mxmindia.com/2012/08/tam-offers-6-action-steps-in-meeting-with-isa-aaai/). Ensuring security measures and an internal audit team are measures that ought to have been taken (and insisted on) from Day 1. The communiqué quoting Messrs Bharat Patel and Arvind Sharma says: “We look forward to speedy implementation of the six action steps outlined by TAM. With the formation of Broadcast Audience Research Council-BARC on the anvil, it will be appropriate for us to request BARC to review if these steps are adequate.”

     

    Note the statement says the formation of BARC is on the anvil. Given the extent of time the print readership council took to happen (note the appointment of the research company/alliance awarded the contract has still not been announced), my guess is that it will take it around 12-18 months for any alternative to be set up.

     

    None of the stakeholders – at last week’s meeting or outside of it – have announced stopping their subscription to the current system. So if they haven’t done it, and in fact still sport TAM numbers whenever the ratings are favourable to them, isn’t it time that stop having double standards?

     

    Already the ownership structure of BARC is not a healthy one. Advertisers ought to be paying the lion’s share since any research will help their money being better utilised. The broadcasters could’ve contributed to the corpus that will facilitate the operations of BARC and the research process (the boxes et al). But now all of this is history. Broadcasters will own 60% of BARC, and advertisers and ad agencies will own 20 percent each.

     

    Thankfully for the broadcasters, the I&B ministry is busy elsewhere (Assam, social media etc). One wrong move, you can be sure that the government will flex its muscles.

     

    My guess (and information) is an announcement on BARC will happen sooner than that.

     

    Mediaah! is written by Pradyuman Maheshwari, senior journalist and Editor-in-chief, MxMIndia. He can be reached at: pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, Gtalk pradyumanm@gmail.com, BBM 29FEA79C. Twitter @pmahesh.  The views expressed here are his own.

     

  • Prasar Bharati, which believes that the TAM data under-represents terrestrial and rural reach of Doordarshan, is holding consultation with the ministry and contemplating appropriate action against TAM

    AAAI, ISA to meet TAM on Aug 16 as MIB, Prasar Bharti mull probe

    By A Correspondent

     

    The ministry of information & broadcasting and Prasar Bharati will jointly investigate allegations of fudging of television viewership by TAM Media Research. The two have also sought an explanation from TAM on this issue.

     

    Prasar Bharati, which believes that the TAM data completely under-represents terrestrial and rural reach of Doordarshan – the state broadcaster, is holding consultation with the ministry and contemplating appropriate action against TAM, a senior government official, who asked not to be named, said.

     

    “It is high time transparency and fairness came into the system,” the Information & Broadcasting ministry official said. The ministry has written to TAM asking for an explanation. “Within this week, we are also sending out reference letters to TRAI, the telecom regulator, and Competition Commission of India,” the official added.

     

    The Prasar Bharati board has already given in-principle approval to collate facts, seek legal opinion and hold consultations with the ministry on the issue of misrepresentation and under-reporting of data for Doordarshan by TAM.

     

    “Prasar Bharati also feels that TAM data completely under-represents terrestrial and rural reach of Doordarshan. We always felt that this has caused immense losses to the state broadcaster,” said the person.

     

    TAM Media Research India’s chief executive officer, LV Krishnan, said he has no comments to offer on the issue.

     

    New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) has sued The Nielsen Company, a global research and information firm, and its partner Kantar Media Research in a New York court for tampering with TV viewership data to favour broadcasters who allegedly bribed executives in its Indian JV, TAM.

     

    NDTV has filed a suit in the New York State Supreme Court seeking damages of around $1.4 billion for negligence and fraud and hundreds of millions more for interference and breach of fiduciary duty. Advertisers and media agencies depend on TAM data-the only available measurement for TV viewership – to negotiate ad rates.

     

    Meanwhile, concerned by NDTV’s allegations on TAM, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) has called for a meeting with TAM officials later this week. “We are meeting the TAM officials to get the facts rights and understand the issue in the right perspective,” said Arvind Sharma, president, AAAI. The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) would be attending the meeting, which has been scheduled for August 16, 2012.

     

    “Since advertising agencies are involved in media planning and buying, which is dependent on TAM ratings, we need to know if there is anything to be concerned about,” said Mr Sharma.

     

    Advertisers also say that it was time for media buying agencies to stop relying only on TAM. “Our media buying agencies depend on the ratings provided by TAM. The onus is on marketers to demand from the agencies basis at which they have been spending the advertisers’ money. There have been issues like TAM’s sample size, but over a period of time lethargy had set in,” said Salil Kapoor, chief operating officer, Dish TV.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • The apex bodies of advertisers and agencies assert they are not delaying the setting up of BARC

    It’s incorrect to blame us on BARC delay, say ISA & AAAI

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    With news network NDTV suing television measurement body TAM Media Research and its principals, it’s become critical that stakeholders of the proposed Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) get their act together to provide an adequate framework for research and ratings.

     

    For, if industry bodies do not act speedily, the government could well step in. It was hence interesting to read IBF president Uday Shankar’s assertion that the apex bodies of advertisers (ISA) and ad agencies (AAAI) have been speedbreakers in the setting up of BARC.

     

    Nagesh Alai

    This statement of not showing enough urgency has not gone down too well with the Advertising Association of India and Indian Society of Advertisers. Said Nagesh Alai, former AAAI president and current ex-officio member: “It is unfortunate that such a comment has been passed. At the end of the day, who are the constituents of the industry? The advertisers, broadcasters and advertising agencies and each of them have a role to play. When all of these are stakeholders, how is it possible that ISA and AAAI will be uninterested in moving BARC forward? The fact remains that we have been engaging with them regularly and have come to an agreement on what the constitution of the shareholding would be; what should be the constitution of the board of governance and what should be the operating principles. All these have been captured in the draft of Memorandum and Articles of BARC, which is with the IBF.”

     

    He added: “We’ve met and agreed in principle on the key issues and have put down those things in the document as it is very necessary to start off. It is lying with them now. As I see it, it is work in progress. There is no question of us not being interested or not wanting to take this forward – how can it be? It is just not a rational statement. Just to recall, three years ago, AAAI was one of the prime movers on BARC – it was our idea.”

     

    On the current status of the draft, Mr Alai said: “As of now, the Memorandum and Article document that needs to be signed by all stakeholders is with IBF. All the recommendations in the draft have been taken jointly by the three member bodies. It is just the question of whatever is there in the draft is seen and accepted by them and we sign and move on from there. As I see it, it would take another one or two months for the signing process to take place; it all depends on how soon IBF responds now. But let me tell you that we will continue to work in partnership so that we are able to come up with a system that is robust and liked by all.”

     

    Meanwhile, when asked for its standpoint on the issue, the ISA reverted with the following statement: “The Indian Society of Advertisers, who initiated the formation of BARC based on the World Federation of Advertisers’ best practice of forming a Joint Industry Body (JIB) for television audience measurement, would like BARC to start tomorrow. We would not like to join the blamegame, as a joint industry body BARC is necessary for robust and transparent TRPs. As for NDTV versus TAM issue, we cannot comment on it as the case is still sub judice.”

     

    Bharat Patel

    When contacted, Bharat Patel, past chairman of Procter & Gamble and chairman of ISA admitted to BARC facing some tough times but said that it will be back on track soon. “There have been ups and downs but you must understand that this is a new baby and it is bound to take a long time. Also, there are huge investments involved. But then it should happen soon,” he said.

     

    On the IBF president’s statement holding the ISA and AAAI responsible for the slow progression, Mr Patel said: “It is incorrect. It’s got nothing to do with the AAAI or the ISA. As I said, these things take some time. We have reached a stage where we are finalising the articles and once that is done it should move fast.”

     

    “One must also realise that people have their own job/business to cater to,” Mr Patel added. “One has to have enough time on hand as people who are involved in BARC have their own jobs to look at too. For me, the real issue is that people are not finding the time to get together. I cannot give a timeframe at this stage as I cannot speak on behalf of other people but then it will happen soon. In fact, ISA wants to get started with it from tomorrow itself as we were the ones who initiated the global best practice JIB by the name of WFA. But you will see it happening soon.”

     

    While the statements from AAAI and ISA reiterate the commitment to the cause of setting up a credible measurement metric, it’s critical for the trio of IBF, ISA and AAAI to put aside differences and work amicably to safeguard the future of the industry. The ball for now is in the industry’s court. If it doesn’t act fast enough, the government could also be an active participant.

     

  • Clients, agencies, media houses… everyone needs to contribute generously. Carping from the sidelines is going to be of no use

    Anil Thakraney: TV research needs BARC. And bite

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I am aware the debate on television ratings studies must be pouring through your eyes and ears. More thoughts have been expressed on this issue than there are metered households in India, hehe. Anyway, I just want to make a couple of quick points. So bear with me.

     

    There are two things that need to happen, now that most constituents accept that the current measurement system has failed. (And not just failed, the process is ridden with ugly controversies.) What the industry needs to do is to go back to square one and start the process all over again. If BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) is going to be looking into this, so be it. But they need to hire personnel who are respected for their integrity and intellect, and they need to make the process totally transparent. The NDTV court case should be used as an opportunity to show the whole world how TV viewing data can be collected honestly and effectively. There are enough brains in the Indian media to make this possible.

     

    The other issue concerns funding. When I met Lodestar’s Shashi Sinha earlier this year, we discussed the problems associated with TV research. This is what he said, and I quote: “Someone has to put money on the table, it’s as simple as that. The solutions are all known, I know very bright and talented people in research, what needs to be fixed is known. The problem is: No one is wiling to invest. Today, if television measurement costs Rs20 crores, what if Rs100 crores was spent on it? So it’s nothing but lack of funds.”

     

    Sinha is a veteran in the world of media buying, so we have to listen to him. And he makes sense. If the industry wants lakhs of households to be metered (as against the current figure of a few laughable thousands) so that the viewing pattern of a nation of billion plus is adequately recorded, the industry needs to get ready to loosen its purse strings. Clients, agencies, media houses… everyone needs to contribute generously. Carping from the sidelines is going to be of no use.

     

    Because without adequate funding, there will be BARC but no bite.

     

    * * *

     

    PS: A compelling ad by PETA. If this doesn’t motivate you to switch to a veggie diet, nothing will. Bring out the mooli, the lauki, the baingan and the sprouts, I say!