Sachin=GOD Posted August 1, 2012 Posted August 1, 2012 NDTV sues Nielsen for 'manipulation' NDTV has sued the global TV rating agency Nielsen for billions of dollars for allegedly manipulating viewership data, a media report said here. In a 194-page lawsuit filed in a New York court late last week, NDTV accused Nielsen of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by manipulating viewership data in favour of channels that are willing to provide bribes to its officials. NDTV says rampant manipulation of viewership data has been going on for eight years, and when presented with evidence earlier this year, top executives at Nielsen pledged to make changes. But NDTV says these promises have been falseones, The Hollywood reporter said. NDTV is now demanding significant damages: at least USD 810 million for fraud, at least USD 580 million for negligence and hundreds of millions more for a range of causes of action including tortious interference and breach of fiduciary duty. Reacting to the case, a Nielsen spokesperson said the company "has a outstanding policy of not commenting on pending legal matters." In New Delhi, when contacted, NDTV declined to comment on the issue. NDTV is also looking to punish Nielsen's top corporate officers and demanding that the company essentially be kicked out of the country. "The lawsuit contains merely allegations against the venerable ratings research company that operates in more than 100 countries, earns more than USD 5 billion a year and has been around since 1923. But if proved, they could be veryserious," the report said. In the complaint, NDTV targets TAM (Television Audience Measurement), a joint venture between Nielsen and Kantar Media Research. NDTV says the two companies, each named as defendants, once were rivals but decided to operate jointly within India to monopolise the market for TV viewership data. The board of TAM is said to be composed of officials from the two companies, the report said. As a result, NDTV says that Nielsen's officers have been "recklessly disregarding" their responsibilities to laws and their customers and that the cost-cutting measures have been one of the main reasons behind manipulated TV viewership data. "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," says the lawsuit. Indian Express
Lurker Posted August 1, 2012 Posted August 1, 2012 Should be very interesting to watch. Nielsen's impact is huge on viewership. Although an industry standard, the company is not known by many. Only those in the know seems to know how Nielsen ratings works and doubt any other company would be able to make a dent in that anytime soon.
Roshanrocks Posted August 1, 2012 Posted August 1, 2012 USD 810 million for fraud, at least USD 580 million for negligence and hundreds of millions :yikes: thats a LOT of money
Old guy Posted August 2, 2012 Posted August 2, 2012 :yikes: thats a LOT of money not more then 45 billion :dontknow:
Vilander Posted August 2, 2012 Posted August 2, 2012 actually people should sue ndtv for the manipulation that barkha does.
Desi Cartman Posted August 2, 2012 Posted August 2, 2012 actually people should sue ndtv for the manipulation that barkha does. Here is my twitter conversation with Barkha : barkha dutt @BDUTT Interviewing Anna Hazare early in the morning. What would you like to ask him. Send your questions and I'll try and weave them in :-) @sh_alok @BDUTT did he really beat up someone for drinking alcohol and if so does he regret it ? Let me know if my question makes it :) Expand 27 Jul barkha dutt @BDUTT @sh_alok :-)
Mariyam Posted August 3, 2012 Posted August 3, 2012 Am I missing something? Nielsen in India has a tie up with Org Marg ( not a 100% sure) and this alleged manipulation was carried out in India on the TAM ratings of NDTV by Nielsen India and its Indian partner. Why has the lawsuit been filed in New York, that too against the mother company under some obscure American act- Foreign Corrupt Practices Act???
Sachin=GOD Posted August 3, 2012 Author Posted August 3, 2012 Govt Mulls Probe Against TAM After Complaints The government is planning to launch a probe into the alleged fudging of television viewership data by TAM Media Research after several complaints from broadcasters. A top official in the Union information and broadcasting ministry, who did not want to be identified, said the government has received a lot of complaints from TAM in the past. “A lot of people have been raising concerns because of which we are looking at TAM very carefully. We will soon take some action,” he added. Broadcaster New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) sued The Nielsen Co, a global research and information firm, and Kantar Media Research, equal partners in TAM Media, for tampering with TV viewership data to favour broadcasters who allegedly bribed executives in their Indian JV. NDTV, which owns the news channels NDTV 24X7 and NDTV India, filed the suit in the New York State Supreme Court seeking damages of around $1.4 billion for negligence and fraud, and hundreds of millions more for interference and breach of fiduciary duty. Advertisers and media agencies in India depend on TAM data — the only available measurement for TV viewership — to negotiate ad rates. Any discrepancy in the data would have resulted in losses for several broadcasters, advertisers and ad agencies. News of NDTV’s lawsuit has created ripples in the media industry, with several broadcasting firms and advertising agencies saying this has only established what has been an “open secret” in the industry for a while, but this could be an opportunity to set things right. “I have always been saying that the TAM data is all wrong, fudged. And I have not changed my views on this,” said Subhash Chandra, chairman of Essel Group, which runs several TV channels under the Zee banner. “The allegations, which NDTV has made against TAM, are very serious in nature. It is a matter of concern for the broadcast industry. The industry in the past has raised issues like small sample size used by TAM. Even as a company, we have several times taken up issues with them. For example, we questioned them on this year’s IPL ratings. Given the large crowd in the stadiums we had imagined the ratings to be much more than what were released by TAM,” Manjit Singh, CEO of MSM India, which runs the Sony and Max channels, said. Singh added that MSM has taken up the issue with TAM. “They do come back with explanations but they may not always be satisfactory,” he said. In its 194-page lawsuit, NDTV claims that it had confronted Nielsen with evidence of data manipulation, including taped meetings with TAM India employees, which showed that they were willing to tamper data for bribes. Nielsen, according to NDTV, admitted in meetings and through emails that its data was being manipulated and that it was willing to address the issue by July 1, 2012. NDTV says that Nielsen continued to publish these ratings despite repeated demands to stop distribution of TAM TV ratings until the sample size was increased and a proper security mechanism was put in place. Another broadcaster told ET that it has taken up with TAM the issue of aberrations appearing in the time spent per viewer (TSV) numbers derived from TAM data several times. “We have raised concerns about skewed TSV patterns in select markets. It could be because of discrepancy at the ground level. But there has been no action from TAM,” a top executive at the broadcaster said. “We are totally disappointed at the lack of responsibility shown by TAM in dealing with this issue,” another broadcaster said, adding he has lodged a complaint with the I&B ministry about the fudged data. Most of the discrepancy is due to the small sample size, say experts and industry insiders. The current system is highly susceptible to manipulation. It is easy to manipulate the findings to distort the eventual numbers published by TAM, said one person. “I cannot say for sure if bribes are involved. But numbers are distorted without any logic and go unexplained. And it is easy to distort the numbers to favour someone,” he added. A media planner who did not wish to be identified said this is a chance to revive the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) that was proposed by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation a few years ago. The government should also implement the Amit Mitra committee recommendations that talked about irregularities in the current measurement system. Economic Times
seedhi Posted August 3, 2012 Posted August 3, 2012 Am I missing something? Nielsen in India has a tie up with Org Marg ( not a 100% sure) and this alleged manipulation was carried out in India on the TAM ratings of NDTV by Nielsen India and its Indian partner. Why has the lawsuit been filed in New York, that too against the mother company under some obscure American act- Foreign Corrupt Practices Act??? Publicity. They arent going to get a single dime through the US Court. It is also in a way a spit in the face of Indian judiciary, if the alleged crime is committed in India the case first needs to be filed here.
Vilander Posted August 3, 2012 Posted August 3, 2012 Am I missing something? Nielsen in India has a tie up with Org Marg ( not a 100% sure) and this alleged manipulation was carried out in India on the TAM ratings of NDTV by Nielsen India and its Indian partner. Why has the lawsuit been filed in New York, that too against the mother company under some obscure American act- Foreign Corrupt Practices Act??? Yeah they are with Org marg. But i think the thought process woulf be that industry malpractices laws are much more stringent and cases are much more effectvely closed in the US than in India.
Precambrian Posted August 4, 2012 Posted August 4, 2012 http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/marketing/article3717415.ece?ref=wl_industry-and-economy
Precambrian Posted August 4, 2012 Posted August 4, 2012 http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-08-03/news/33020070_1_sample-tv-viewership-data-broadcasters NDTV's petition against Nielsen, Kantar Media and TAM Media Research has opened a can of worms with a number of broadcasters pointing out flaws in the methodology used by the television audience measurement firm. TV viewership data that is generated by TAM is a critical currency for the media industry that depends on it to make most of its investment decisions. Most broadcasters allege that the main problem with TAM data is the small sample size. While TV viewing homes in India have more than doubled from 60 million in 2005 to over 130 million in 2012, the sample size being used by TAM (homes which have PeopleMeter installed) has only increased from 5,000 in 2005 to 8,150, 46-47% of India's television viewing homes. "The sample size is low for a country with a large population and tends to get skewed towards certain demographics and geographies," Lynn de Souza, chairman and chief executive officer at Lintas Media Group says. "There is a need for a larger sample, in terms of size and variety." She says there are bound to be sampling errors due to the small size. A former senior executive with a television channel, who did not wish to be named, said that if the sample size was large, manipulation would become a difficult task. "A small sample size is more amenable to manipulation and even targeting only a select number of homes can cause a significant change in the data," he said. While TAM provides information on the viewing patterns, broadcasters get no information on the viewer, his lifestyle, social standing or consumption pattern, elements that are often of great importance to marketers. very funnily acc to TAM ratings its Times Now thats leading the tables!
Precambrian Posted August 4, 2012 Posted August 4, 2012 http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-08-03/news/33020126_1_big-advertisers-tv-viewership-data-kantar Several big advertisers in the country are crying foul over TAM's alleged fudging of TV viewership data, as the data forms the basis for negotiations over advertisement rates with TV channels, even as the government on Thursday said it is planning to refer the case to the anti-monopoly body and the telecom regulator. India's biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki, whose annual advertising spend is close to Rs 200 crore-60% of which goes to TV-says that though it uses TAM data, it could not rely on it completely and so employed agencies at its dealerships for consumer research. "We have set up research desks at our showrooms to study the consumers' media habits. We also depend on a lot of in-house research to get fresh perspective," says Shashank Srivastava, executive director at Maruti Suzuki. He says that there are issues over the sample size of TAM and the number of meters it uses to arrive at the ratings. "In the absence of an alternative in the TV measurement space, we depend on TAM as large investments on advertising have to be made on the basis on some numbers. But we also employ other sources in order to create another channel for validation of TAM's finding," Srivastava adds. According to media buying agency Starcom, which services large clients that include Samsung, Dabur, Heinz and Cadila Laboratories, advertisers depend on TAM's data due to lack of an alternative. "There is no other system in India to measure TV ratings. But we cannot entirely depend on TAM research, so we also take into consideration various other parameters before making a buying decision," says Sunila Menon, executive director of Starcom India. The Indian advertising industry notched up Rs 25,594 crore in revenues in 2011, 8% more than the previous year, according to a report by Pitch Madison Media. Of this, the share of advertising on television was 44.8%. "We always believed there was something wrong about the data they (TAM) published, and often asked the company to make corrections. We have no idea whether the methodology was flawed or someone was willfully distorting the data, but it did benefit some people at the cost of some others," said a top executive of a leading consumer electronics firm, who requested not to be named. The Neilsen Co, which holds 50% shareholding in TAM Media Research, has had differences in the past with several companies in the FMCG and food and beverage space. India's biggest foods to soaps maker, Hindustan Unilever recently questioned the accuracy of Nielsen numbers saying that the world's largest research agency's data contradicted the consumer product maker's internal estimates. HUL said it did not wish to participate in this story. Many other big advertisers admitted they had concerns with the TAM data and hoped that NDTV's lawsuit will be an opportunity to set things right. Broadcaster NDTV has sued TAM Research, Neilsen and Kantar in a New York court alleging that they distorted TAM data to benefit some broadcasters in exchange for a consideration. Meanwhile the government is likely to ask Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to come up with regulations. Following the allegations made by NDTV, the government is also considering referring the issue to the Competition Commission of India , a government source said. "Regular complaints from several broadcasters could lead to bringing regulation for TV rating measurement in order to determine the minimum benchmark. This issue (NDTV's case against TAM) is under consideration and the entire concept of TAM will need to be put right," the source said. The information and broadcasting ministry is of the view that its time the government intervened to regulate TV rating measurements and the present system be ceased. "The government will also seek a formal explanation from TAM on this matter," the source added. The government is also looking into complaints about cross holdings in TAM by media buying companies in India. If it is revealed that there are "sponsors" who influence TAM's research, as petitioned by NDTV in its lawsuit, there could be serious repercussions on the broadcast and advertising industry, the source said.
Swing_n_Speed Posted August 4, 2012 Posted August 4, 2012 actually people should sue ndtv for the manipulation that barkha does. True. But I'm super happy NDTV is suing Nielson too.
Swing_n_Speed Posted August 4, 2012 Posted August 4, 2012 Here is my twitter conversation with Barkha : He trashed someone just for having a drink? or did he trash some routine village drunk?
Desi Cartman Posted August 4, 2012 Posted August 4, 2012 He trashed someone just for having a drink? or did he trash some routine village drunk? Drunken villagers were tied to pillars and then flogged, sometimes personally by Hazare. He justified this punishment by stating that ÅÓural India was a harsh society"
Sachin=GOD Posted August 4, 2012 Author Posted August 4, 2012 Prasar Bharati may sue TAM for ‘raw deal’ to Doordarshan NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of the NDTV lawsuit, Prasar Bharati is considering legal action against Television Audience Measurement (TAM) for suppression of data related to viewership for Doordarshan and its allied channels. The issue is likely to be discussed in the Prasar Bharati board meeting on August 6. Prasar Bharati CEO Jawahar Sircar said, "I am keen on taking legal action against TAM. But we are still in discussions with our legal counsel. The final decision will be taken by the board and we will abide by it." Doordarshan has 37 channels including DD Bharati and DD National besides four allied channels like Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TV. With its 1415 transmitters DD enjoys an enviable 92% coverage of the country through its terrestrial network. These would constitute a viewership of about 2.5 crore people. The state broadcaster also has DD Direct Plus that has over 1 crore subscribers amounting to at least 3.5 crore viewers. However, sources say that despite the largest viewership base DD has always been short-changed by TAM when it came to viewership ratings. "DD channels never notch high television rating points and our revenues have over the years suffered tremendously because of that," a source said. Prasar Bharati's revenues have in fact stagnated at Rs 1,200-1,400 crore in the last few years. This has also meant that the public broadcaster had to be sustained by the public exchequer. The pubcaster has repeatedly raised this issue with the I&B ministry and the parliamentary standing committee. In fact, appearing before the 2004 Parliamentary standing committee headed by Nikhil Kumar that looked at the TRPs issue, Prasar Bharati said that neither broadcasters, advertisers or corporate media planners could get a "true picture" about Indian viewers' TV watching habits as the rating system did not adequately represent the actual television viewing pattern of the Indian TV homes. Prasar Bharati pointed out that "62 million of 112 million TV homes were outside the ambit of television audience measurement ratings as they were in rural areas". The report says, "Prasar Bharati further stated that besides the size and non-representation of the sample, other factors affecting the reliability of TAM Media Research data were the release of data on weekly basis, lack of transparency in the method of selection of households and the confidentiality of the names of panel homes, which prevented verification. Further, induced viewership and tampering with data could not be ruled out as ratings were not subjected to validation or independent audit." ToI
The Outsider Posted August 4, 2012 Posted August 4, 2012 Publicity. They arent going to get a single dime through the US Court. It is also in a way a spit in the face of Indian judiciary' date=' if the alleged crime is committed in India the case first needs to be filed here.[/quote'] How is it a spit in the face of the Indian judiciary - this is not a criminal case where the Attorney General should have filed a criminal suit. It's a civil case and if the party suing chooses not to sue in India but in the US, what can the Indian judiciary do about it?
seedhi Posted August 4, 2012 Posted August 4, 2012 How is it a spit in the face of the Indian judiciary - this is not a criminal case where the Attorney General should have filed a criminal suit. It's a civil case and if the party suing chooses not to sue in India but in the US' date= what can the Indian judiciary do about it?They have alleged that bribery has taken place in India, and bribery is a crime in India. Surely it is India where the criminal investigation must take place. The question is why did NDTV not choose to approach the Indian judicial system first as clearly the alleged offense was done in India. Also, I believe violation of the FCPA is a criminal offense even in the USA, and if found guilty the company can be subject to criminal penalties by the govt.
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