Television Rating Points or TRPs have long provided ammunition for television channels to battle against each other. Now the same system has become ammunition between two very unlikely opponents- Television Audience Measurement, India (TAM Media Research Pvt Ltd) and the Government of India.

TAM is the rating agency that comes up with weekly TRP figures for different channels and time slots. TAM’s data is the only mechanism to assess TV viewership in the country and both advertisers and broadcasters pay a hefty subscription fee to get their reports.TRP is the only “currency” that allows broadcasters, advertising agencies and advertisers to determine their ad spend, ad placement and programme schedule. Which is why, TRPs aren’t just a number but also a money spinner since almost 34% of the revenues in the television industry is generated through advertising. ¹

TAM and TRP could be a thing of the past though, given the fact that one of the partners which own TAM has dragged the Government of India to court.

But what sparked off the standoff? Following longstanding complaints over the unreliability of TAM’s ratings from both broadcasters and advertisers, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting introduced a number of guidelines to regulate the functioning of the rating agencies earlier this month. It gave 30 days from January 9, 2014 to the rating agencies to adhere to the guidelines. According to the new guidelines, rating agencies have to increase the panel size which records TRPs to at least 20,000 in the next six months and subsequently increase it by another 10,000 every year till it reaches the figure of 50,000. Also, all rating agencies have to be registered with the Ministry to be able to operate and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the I&B Ministry would reserve the right to conduct inspections on the agencies for greater transparency.

TAM Media Research Pvt Ltd is a 50:50 joint venture between Kantar Market Research and Nielsen (India) Pvt Ltd. Kantar has filed a writ petition stating that the government’s TV ratings agency registration regulations have put a question mark on the existence of its venture TAM after operating in India for over a decade. Apart from a nasty fight ensuing, there is also the possibility of a “rating blackout” period in the days to come.

Currently, TAM has 9,600 people meters across 225 cities recording the television viewing habits of 35,000 people. According to an ad published by Kantar on January 20 in all newspapers, it is in the process of installing more than 20,000 meters across the country covering a wider demography – which is also the figure that the government is aiming for as of now. In an interview to the Mint, Eric Salama, chairman and chief executive of Kantar said, “Ramping up to 20,000 is in our plans and budgeted but will take a bit longer than six months.” What makes the disqualification of TAM’s operation in India imminent is the guideline on cross ownership.

Advertising giant  WPP has a major equity in TAM through Kantar. The new guidelines on cross ownership between agencies on one hand and advertisers and broadcasters on the other have been capped at 10 per cent. The I&B Ministry has specified in its regulations that “no single company / legal entity either directly or through its associates or interconnect undertakings shall have substantial equity holding that is, 10 percent or more of paid up equity in both rating agencies and broadcasters/advertisers/advertising agencies”.

While the government guidelines has given rise to fears of a “rating blackout ” in the coming days, all stakeholders – the broadcasters and advertisers have come together to form Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) as a permanent solution to the situation. Representatives from Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) would be on the board of this new organization (which was actually formed two years back, but has started rolling out its future plans only now). Shailesh Shah, General Secretary of IBF in an e-mail interview to Newslaundry said, “BARC will provide the new audience measures.  BARC is scheduled to provide ratings by October 2014. BARC is a joint industry body owned by advertisers, agencies and broadcaster associations. As a Board-managed not-for-profit public utility, BARC will follow due process and board approvals to award contracts”.On January 21, 2014 BARC tied up with the French company Mediametri for key technology services and licensing for its proposed television audience measurement system.

Shashi Sinha, CEO of IPG Mediabrands in India and Chairman of the TechComm for BARC said that the new system would be technologically much more superior and target a greater audience cover. Despite industry people being upbeat about the new system, none were able to provide an answer to what would happen if there would be no ratings after the 30-day deadline expires. BARC will begin releasing its data only from October. Neilsen India, Kantar’s partner, refused to comment on the issue calling the matter “sub-judice”.

However, all parties agree that a rating blackout would be a setback for both broadcasters and advertisers. Arvind Sharma, President of AAAI, says that the government has been unfair to TAM in setting a 30-day deadline to comply to its guidelines and termed it a “hurried decision”. “Extended blackouts are not in anybody’s interest.  Advertisers, agencies and broadcasters have consequently requested the government to allow the current measurement to continue until BARC is ready.  The government thinks that any extension will delay BARC further.  We are certain several options will get explored before the deadline is complete,” adds  Shah.

Why these developments assume greater significance for news channels is that the interim period between the expiry of the deadline and BARC’s rating becoming functional would see the coverage of the general elections- an event that happens once in five years and marks a rise in viewership. During post-election coverage, channels usually start airing campaigns on the viewership data on how many people watched their channel on voting day or on the day the results are announced.

Going by what Shah had to say it seems that the marketing divisions of various channels don’t need to be blue. “I want to restate that it will be incorrect to assume a rating blackout. Some solution will emerge. News viewership always increases around elections. It will be no different this time. Ratings will reflect this viewership. In any case, established brands will attract what they already have been doing.”

Ratings or no ratings, the current system does need a complete overhaul. TAM has always been a problem child. Flawed methodology and small sample size apart, TAM has been accused of following unfair trade practices. Whether it be the leaking of the list of households with TAM meters in Mumbai in exchange for a few thousand rupees or the publication of an investigation by Outlook revealing that TAM does not place its TAM meters according to the socio-economic class which  they claim to represent in the “television universe sample”– TAM’s credibility has been under question for a while. It was only after NDTV sued Neilsen and accused the rating agency of “fraud, negligence, misrepresentation, conspiracy and other offenses” resulting in losses worth millions for the channel that the media woke up to the gravity of the situation.Last year, several channels including Network 18 and Times Television Network either didn’t renew their contracts with TAM or wrote to them conveying their unwillingness to continue their subscription.

The Ministry guidelines have dealt yet another nail in TAM’s coffin.

Footnote:

1. According to the Amit Mitra committee report on TRP, the total size of Indian Media & Entertainment Industry is INR 587 bn and contributes 44% share of the entire Media and Entertainment Industry. Within the television industry, 34 % of revenues come from advertisement.

   The author can be reached at somi@small-screen.com