ITV

Tag: Kantar Media Research

  • TAM expanding peoplemeter size: Kantar’s Eric Salama

    TAM expanding peoplemeter size: Kantar’s Eric Salama

    MUMBAI: For the past three months, the focus of the entire TV industry has been on the new industry-backed Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). It was almost a given that the decade-old viewership ratings agency TAM Media Research would slip away into the night as the newbie had got the government’s and industry’s support.

     

    But TAM is not disappearing. It got some relief last week as the Delhi High Court adjourned to 26 August the hearing on its parent Kantar Media Research’s  suit against the government-declared regulation on cross holding patterns of TV ratings agencies.

     

    And unknown to many, TAM is working to comply with the other requirements of TV ratings agency guidelines to continue to exist. A long standing demand of industry and a crucial criterion requiring compliance is the minimum number of peoplemeters. And TAM apparently is coming up to speed on this.

     

    “We are continuing to increase the size of the panel but haven’t announced exact numbers and timings around it,” Kantar CEO Eric Salama told indiantelevision.com last week.

     

    According to the ‘policy guidelines for TV rating agencies,’ the minimum peoplemeter sample size has to be 20,000 homes. So Salama’s response to indiantelevision.com seems to imply that TAM will likely aim for that figure.

     

    TV rating agencies also have to apply for a licence before they can operate in India and there cannot be any cross holding between agencies and TV ratings agencies. The latter regulation is something that Kantar has challenged in the Delhi High Court and TAM can continue to be operational until the court pronounces its verdict.  But it has applied for a TV ratings agency licence to  the ministry of information & broadcasting. There is no word from the ministry on the same, as the guidelines don’t prescribe a deadline for the approval or disapproval of the licence.

     

    We reached out to but TAM, but none of its officials were available for comment at the time of filing this report.

     

    Industry however isn’t too concerned whether or not TAM increases it  people meter sample as it is BARC they are banking on and awaiting patiently. Says a senior executive from a news channel, “Who cares whether or not TAM is expanding its meters. Government is backing BARC.”

     

    Another broadcast CEO stated: “We don’t know what TAM is trying to achieve by increasing its sample size,” he said. “Are they trying to confuse the stakeholders or are they grandstanding?”

     

    Now the question is if TAM does scale up, and is not shut down by some quirk of fate: can the industry support two ratings agencies? In the past it has not been able to.  Intam was the first TV viewership monitoring service which was set up in 1994 by ORG-Marg. TAM, followed in 1998. But former was merged into TAM in 2001.  aMAP was set up in 2004; commenced operations in 2007, folded up in 2011.  TAM continued to hold ground, despite carping from industry.

     

    And now we are in a time where another rival has reared its head – BARC, which is set to roll out its ratings by end-2014. Will history be repeated or a new chapter be written?

  • Delhi HC adjourns Kantar case till 26 August

    Delhi HC adjourns Kantar case till 26 August

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High court today adjourned till 26 August the hearing in the matter relating to Kantar Media Research with regard to cross holding in TAM. 

     

    The adjournment came after justice Manmohan was informed that the new government had not appointed the advocate who would argue on behalf of the government.

     

    TAM can continue publishing its TV ratings till the court decides on the Kantar petition.

     

    The matter arose after the Information and Broadcasting Ministry directed all rating agencies to get themselves registered with the government and laid down conditions which barred cross holding.

     

     Kantar Media Research challenged the government regulation in view of the cross holding provision.

  • NDTV sues TAM, Nielsen for manipulation of data

    NDTV sues TAM, Nielsen for manipulation of data

    MUMBAI: Television news broadcaster NDTV has filed a lawsuit in New York seeking injunction against publication of television ratings by TAM Media Research and also compensation and damages, a move that can have major implications if the allegations are proved right.

    The lawsuit has been filed against TAM, its parent companies Nielsen and Kantar Media Research and senior officials of the companies in the Supreme Court of the State of New York.

    NDTV has demanded $810 million as compensation for the loss in revenues it has suffered over the years and $580 million in penalty for negligence by Nielsen and Kantar officials.

    In the petition, NDTV has accused the companies of knowingly allowing manipulation of viewership data in favour of channels that are willing to provide bribes to its officials.

    According to NDTV‘s complaint (a copy of which is with Indiantelevision.com), “rampant manipulation” of viewership data has been going on for at least eight years. “The loss of revenue caused to NDTV on account of the false, fabricated and manipulated data released to the public by Nielsen, Kantar and TAM over the past eight years is not less than $810 million,” it states.

    “This is a case, brought under New York State laws, of negligence, gross negligence, false representations, prima facie tort and negligence per se… This is also a case of a once noble company, Nielsen…exhibiting unabashed short term greed and reckless disregard of its duties and of its noble origin. It is a case of the two largest audience measurement conglomerates in the world, Nielsen and Kantar, formerly competitors, operating worldwide through a deliberately complex web of subsidiaries and joint ventures, creating, at least in India, a monopoly and abusing the power of that monopoly,” the lawsuit reads.

    NDTV has also stated that it presented evidences to Nielsen and other parties and its senior officials promised to take remedial actions. However, all promises to make changes proved to be a “sham” and bad data continued to be released “recklessly and in pursuit of profits.”

    At a meeting NDTV had with Nielsen and TAM officials on January 20 2012, NDTV had arranged a detailed presentation by a whistleblower, who was a consultant providing on ground services to TAM. The consultant informed those present that he used to bribe TAM personnel as well as peoplemeter homes in order to manipulate ratings for TV channels and he was successful at doing so. The consultant further stated that he was also able to bribe TAM officials to select him as a sample PeopleMeter home and had a PeopleMeter installed in his own premises.

    NDTV has not disclosed the identity of the consultant in the lawsuit. The 20 January meeting was also attended by Robert Messemer, Chief Security Officer at The Nielsen Company.

    NDTV is being represented by attorneys Adam Finkel and Rohit Sabharwal.

    “The primary reason that data could be so easily manipulated in India was due to the persistent refusal of Nielsen and Kantar to provide adequate funds for TAM to increase its sample size and invest in the systems/quality/security procedures,” the lawsuit says.

    Apart from TAM, Nielsen Group, Kantar Media Research, WPP, JWT, IMRB International, and the Nielsen directors are also made party to the lawsuit.

    NDTV claims that TAM is employing an inadequate sampling size for the Indian market, and also of using inadequate security measures to protect its data. It has also alleged that the lack of security has led to an atmosphere of widespread corruption, with different networks bribing sample households to watch them, and TAM employees taking bribes in exchange for helping to game the numbers.

    The lawsuit lists 42 counts against Nielsen, Kantar, TAM and other defendants, ranging from breach of fiduciary duty and gross negligence to tortious and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.

    “TAM India doesn‘t comment on any litigation,” said a spokesperson of TAM, a joint venture of Nielsen, Kantar and Cavendish Square Holdings B.V.

    Earlier in 2001 Outlook Magazine and later in 2002 Zee Group had carried exposes on manipulation of TAM ratings.