TAM India involved in fraudulent practice says NDTV's lawsuit

NDTV has dragged Nielsen Company to court on grounds of negligence, gross negligence, false representations, prima facie tort and negligence per se. Earlier, also questions have been raised on the credibility of research data provided by TAM. This is the first time though that a lawsuit has been filed in a New York court.

 

The suit was filed on July 26, 2012 and NDTV demands a minimum of USD 1.3 billion - USD 580 million for negligence, a minimum of USD 810 million for fraud and millions more on a variety of other causes of action including legal fees. TAM is a joint venture monopoly created by Nielsen and Kantar in 1998.

 

The complaint filed by NDTV states that the wrongdoings have led to heavy financial losses for the channel. Earlier also, warnings had been issued to the global research company, to which no heed was paid and the company continued to publish manipulated data.

 

A TAM spokesperson said, “TAM India, a 50:50 Joint venture between Kantar Media and Nielsen, does not comment on any litigation.”

 

Commenting on the issue, a spokesperson from Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd said, “The need of the hour for broadcasters in India and the world over is a robust, reliable research system and analytical tool. TAM needs to offer a system which will help decision-making by offering insights that are not only legitimate and pioneering but also add value to the business and in turn the end consumer.”

 

Adgully tried speaking to various Industry officials most reiterated that problems do exist but on the specific issue they would rather not comment.