Prasar Bharati set to move panel against TAM

The decision,taken on Wednesday,was linked with the public broadcasters plans to focus on an aggressive marketing strategy for the Doordarshan and All India Radio.

Having decided to take on the Television Audience Measurement,claiming that the agency under-reports viewership data of Doordarshan,Prasar Bharati has decided to file a case against TAM before the Competition Commission of India. The decision,taken on Wednesday,was linked with the public broadcasters plans to focus on an aggressive marketing strategy for the Doordarshan and All India Radio.

Prasar Bharati feels that the inaccurate viewership data provided by TAM to the market has been adversely affecting the DDs revenues. Prasar Bharati board,which met here on Wednesday,concluded that it was the appropriate time to take requisite remedial measures. Sources said the case would be filed without any delay as the Prasar Bharati has received the green signal from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

In its petition against TAM,it will cite the monopolistic character of the agency and inaccurate representation of DDs viewership data by it,sources said.

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Encouraged by NDTV suing the television audience measurement company and its global parent firms Nielsen and Kantar in the US for over a billion dollars,the Prasar Bharati had been collating facts,seeking legal opinion,and holding consultations with I&B Ministry to take on TAM.

The News Broadcasters Association has already written to I&B Minister Ambika Soni asking her to order an independent third party audit to evaluate the TAM systems and direct the ratings provider to suspend reporting data till the audit is done. The ministry has urged the TRAI to recommend an accreditation mechanism for viewership rating agencies and suggest is a legislation was required in this regard.

The Board has put special emphasis on different revenue streams and innovative methods for garnering additional income, Prasar Bharati said in a statement after the meeting.

While the government last week cleared a bailout package for Prasar Bharati and agreed to meet its salary and salary-related expenses for the next five years,the broadcaster will have to meet all operating expenses out of internal revenue earnings.

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After the Union Cabinet decision,Prasar Bharatis annual operational expenditure would be in the range of Rs1,500-2,000 crore whereas the annual revenue currently is around Rs 1,600 crore. Therefore,we need to generate additional revenue of Rs 350-400 crore and that’s where our renewed emphasis on marketing is important, Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar said. The Board also approved Sircars proposal to engage professionals from the open market in marketing and other areas.