CCI seeks industry comments on Prasar Bharati's TAM view

Notice says CCI investigating claims made by Prasar Bharati and has asked industry stakeholders for their comments on the matter

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has sent a notice to stakeholders of the television industry in relation to the allegation by Prasar Bharati that TAM India is abusing its dominant position in television viewership measurement. The notice, dated June 27, says the CCI is investigating the claims made by Prasar Bharati and has asked industry stakeholders for their comments on the matter.

Apart from seeking basic information about their respective organisations, the document also asks the recipients their opinion on whether they have found TAM’s conduct indicative of abuse of its dominant position.

It asks the respondents to note down any instances of TAM denying market access to its competitors. The respondents have also been asked to provide details of entry barriers in the television measurement market (like regulatory barrier, cost and technical barriers and economies of scale) and whether they believe that barriers are created by TAM.

According to industry sources, all broadcasters have not yet received it but are expected to get it soon. The last date to revert to the notice is July 18. The stakeholders are required to submit both a hard and soft copy.

Prasar Bharati had approached the CCI in November 2012 and filed a complaint against TAM under Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2002, which pertains to abuse of dominant position by a market player. In March this year, the CCI had made it public it would investigate the matter raised by Prasar Bharati.  Prasar Bharati had also raised concerns over the under-representation of Doordarshan in the TAM universe, considering the television ratings agency had just 8,000-odd peopleometers, most of them concentrated in the metros, leaving out the rural areas where Doordarshan has mass presence.