Television broadcasters are facing off with advertisers and both in turn are fighting with ratings agency TAM. Where’s the industry headed?
The last fortnight witnessed a tense standoff between major television broadcasters, on one hand, and advertisers and media agencies, on the other, on two aspects: Television audience measurement and its reportage.
In a series of stunning actions, major broadcasters—including Network 18 (publisher of Forbes India), Viacom 18, Multi Screen Media (which runs Sony), Star Network, Zee Network, BAG 24, NDTV and Times TV—who control 102 channels among them redrafted their contracts with TAM India, the research firm which conducts the only television audience measurement study in the country.
THE FIGHT
Broadcasters have two demands: Changing the way television viewership is reported. Currently, TAM (Television Audience Measurement) records channel viewership as a percentage of the total number of viewers. And second, reporting numbers on a monthly basis rather than weekly.
Advertisers and agencies slammed the unilateral move by the broadcasters, through industry bodies Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), and threatened to pull all ads off air unless status quo was restored. “While some broadcasters have stopped using the current rating system for measurement, as advertisers we support it and will continue using it till another credible measurement system is made available. Any action taken, which is detrimental to the measurement system, would be detrimental to the industry at large,” ISA said in a statement.
After the threat, major advertisers, including HUL, P&G, Dabur and Godrej, sent cancellation orders to all top broadcasters, who in turn, asked for a minimum cancellation notice period. At the time of going to press, the imbroglio continues, even as commercials continue to air.
But there’s too much at stake if this impasse doesn’t end: Broadcasters stand to lose a significant chunk of the Rs 14,000 crore television advertising spend and advertisers stand to lose essential audiences.
MEASUREMENT AND MONETISATION
The two main issues here are:
(This story appears in the 09 August, 2013 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)