No TV ratings for 2 months
For nine weeks starting October 7, broadcasters and advertisers will have to function without viewership data
The verdict is out. For nine weeks starting October 7, there will be no TV viewership ratings and the broadcasters as well as advertisers will have to function without the viewership data.
The decision was taken late Tuesday night after the three industry bodies – Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), and Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) – reached a consensus.
An official statement is expected later in the day, but sources confirmed to Business Standard that ratings agency TAM Media Research will defer the viewership data starting week 41 (October 7) till week 49 (December 8). Incidentally, TAM will release all the data on December 19 along with data for December 9 to December 15.
The decision of suspending the data temporarily is in the wake of the mandatory switchover from analogue to digital addressable systems (DAS) in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
Earlier on Monday, representatives of IBF, AAAI, ISA and TAM had a four-hour meeting but could not arrive at an agreement.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had also suggested a temporary suspension of TAM ratings in the four metros for a short period.