India: NBA ask for TAM suspension

India’s News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has asked the government to suspend reporting of TAM data, in the light of the ongoing row between broadcaster NDTV and Nielsen and WPP’s joint venture. Meanwhile Nielsen is reportedly the front-runner for the forthcoming RSCI readership measurement pitch.

The NBA’s Secretary General Annie Joseph wrote to the country’s Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) two weeks ago to request a third party audit of TV audience measurement systems, along with other steps to ‘resolve the malaise’ and protect the industry.

NBA’s President, K V L Narayan Rao, is also the Executive Vice Chairman of NDTV (New Delhi Television), which last month filed a case in the New York Supreme Court, accusing Kantar and Nielsen of violating anti-bribery laws through the TAM (Television Audience Measurement) joint venture. WPP said this week that it was considering proceedings against NDTV for defamation, and claimed the network’s case was ‘hypothetical’ - a statement promptly rebuffed by NDTV.