Broadcasters add caveat to weekly TAM ratings

Seven broadcasters are now insisting that they are comfortable with only some genres moving to a weekly ratings system

Tension seems to be brewing again between India’s top advertisers and broadcasters a day after seven TV groups agreed to go back to weekly ratings from a monthly system.

Sources said the seven broadcasters — STAR India, Multi-Screen Media, ZEE, Network18 & Viacom18, Times Television, BAG and NDTV — now say they were comfortable with only some genres including Hindi general entertainment and movies and sports moving to a weekly system. The ones that they were keen to keep out included news and niche channels such as infotainment and  English movies and general entertainment channels. News has been a bone of contention, with broadcasters arguing a weekly ratings system puts them under pressure in generating ad revenues and advertisers pointing out that Aaj Tak and ABP News continue to use a weekly system. Executives of the broadcasters were not immediately available for comments. Discovery Networks India, which along with the seven broadcasters had switched to a monthly ratings last week, moved to a weekly system two days ago. The Indian Broadcasting Federation, which initially washed its hands off saying it was a matter between advertisers and TV groups concerned, will hold its annual board meet in Delhi on Friday, where the issue likely to be discussed.

Media buyers said advertisers including top spenders such as Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Dabur, Marico, Godrej Consumer, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo would mount pressure again on the broadcasters to arrive at a consensus. The Indian Broadcasting Federation, which had initially washed its hands off the affair saying it was a matter between the advertisers and television groups concerned, will hold its annual board meet in Delhi on Friday, where the issue expected to be discussed.

The broadcasters have already been given an ultimatum by the advertiser’s lobby to sort out their differences by July 19. If they don’t, 50 more advertisers will join the initial 25 to 30 who said they would cancel ads on the networks in question.

The broadcasters are believed to have taken the stand of monthly ratings owing to issues pertaining to service provider TAM's methodology of measuring viewership. The matter reached a head last year when NDTV dragged Nielsen and Kantar, partners in the joint venture that runs TAM, besides others, to court for allegedly rigging TV ratings.  

In the furore that followed broadcasters insisted on accelerating the setting up of the independent body Broadcasters Audience Research Council (BARC), which would provide ratings as an alternate to TAM. BARC is yet to see the light of day.