Broadcasters - TAM ROW: Peace for now

The row over TAM ratings frequency between the advertising agencies, agency associations and the broadcasters has reached a logical solution after intense deliberations over the past couple of weeks. It may be recalled that the genesis of the row was the decision by eight big broadcasters to opt for monthly TAM data instead of the weekly arrangement earlier. Subsequently the agencies had retaliated by issuing advertisement withdrawal notices; some even had pulled out their TVCs and diverted the TV ad spend budget to other mediums.

In a joint statement, The Indian Broadcasters Federation (IBF), the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), Indian Society of Advertiser (ISA) and TAM Media Research said that they have worked closely and diligently to arrive at a ‘please all agreement.’

The media and public will now get to know television viewership in thousands, colloquially referred to as TVT. TVT captures and reflects growth in TV audiences in the country in terms of absolute numbers. TVT will be the sole currency in the public domain. In addition four-week TVT rolling average will be provided every week. The rolling average is statistically more stable data on viewership, especially for smaller audiences in niche channels, regional languages, English language programs and news. For internal evaluation including planning and buying, %TVR weekly will be available to advertisers and advertising agencies.

The three constituents have also agreed that TAM will make all future audience measurement changes based on inputs from the joint-industry BARC Technical Committee.

Commenting on the changes IBF President Man Jit Singh said, "We are delighted to have reached this agreement. We believe it is important for the industry, and from the perspective of our social responsibility, we must reflect both the growing television audience and the data in a more stable and useful manner. We want to thank AAAI and ISA in collaborating and working out a solution acceptable to all constituents".

“As three concerned constituents, who believe in working together, we have decided to refer all future currency related changes to the BARC technical committee. I’m glad that now we will have an effective guide and monitor for ratings in the country”, says Hemant Bakshi, Chairman of Media Committee and Managing Committee, ISA.

“Getting weekly TVR% is important for media planners and buyers to effectively plan and buy TV and do mid- plan course corrections and post analysis. We are glad that we have been able to agree that the agencies and advertisers will have access to this data as in the past. From tomorrow, we look forward to being able to focus back on our clients businesses and effective planning and buying for their brands”, said Arvind Sharma, President, AAAI.

Said a TAM spokesperson on the agreement, “TAM is happy to receive a common brief from the three industry stakeholders (IBF, ISA and AAAI) and will work very closely with them to ensure its smooth rollout.”

So how will this impact the stakeholders and what are the pros & cons of the new arrangement?

Adgully spoke to several stakeholders, some spoke on record while others expressed their views on conditions of anonymity. But the initial reaction was that of relief overall.

Said CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM, South Asia, “As an agency we are happy that life doesn’t change in any way. We will continue to get data in the same format and frequency as before. The fact that future issues if any will be addressed by the BARC Technical committee is a very positive development.”

Commented Ashish Bhasin, Chairman India and CEO South East Asia, Aegis Media, “It is a nice win-win situation for the industry. It is a resolution that will take the industry forward. The new arrangement has taken care of the concerns of all the stakeholders.”

TVT is reach and helps in measuring the penetration of TV in a better way as compared to the percentage. Though it is not so much in public domain and few are used to it, the fact is even small town channels will get benefitted out of it. Said a senior official on conditions of anonymity,” India being a diverse country, the tastes or the urban and rural viewers are vastly different, so also their profiles, living standards and the genres they watch. Hence a percentage based rating system will not help. The TVT will capture the diversity better. It will help all in better decision making- the broadcaster will know who to sell, advertisers will know where to position ad as per the tastes & preferences of the viewers (eg advertising a premium product on English genre channels) and the agency will be in a position to do better planning.” For example coverage of large events can be measured more effectively on TVT basis as one will get to know the number of viewers in thousands as against the percentage TVRs/TRPs.  

Avers Arvind Sharma, “We reached a consensus that weekly TVTs will aid better planning by industry and also the post evaluation of the campaign. I am happy for the entire industry. For further issues, BARC Technical will be the forum where all matters will be brought and debated.”

Several broadcasters to whom we spoke to said on conditions of anonymity that on the face the agreement looks good and all are looking forward to it. Adgully also spoke to several advertisers, some liked it while some were skeptical. Some conservative observers said it is too early to comment as it will be a while before the benefits become evident. Judging by the reactions, overall there seems to be a situation where there are many naysayers in the industry who are not very confident of the entire model.

Adgully had also reported earlier that during the row that TV budgets had been diverted to other mediums like digital, print, magazines, outdoor and cinema. The benefits of the other mediums have been tested and seen to be successful in this short period.  The ROIs are better at lower spends. Other mediums proved to be good substitutes. Some 10-15 per cent of the incremental budget of the TV ad spends had got diverted to other mediums. We hope that based on the positive experience, advertisers will continue to look at other mediums and not ignore it. They will allocate higher budgets to other mediums.

The outcome of the new arrangement will get clearer by the day. The developments will be keenly watched. We will keep you posted about the issues and the happenings thereof. Keep watching this space.