While television audience measurement agency TAM Media Research plans to expand its reach by installing 2,000 additional people meters (channel-tracking devices fitted in television sets) by January 2013, broadcasters are of the opinion that it may still not be adequate for a country that consists of 147-million television homes.
Broadcasters say that TAM?s sample size is too small and the numbers are not correct indicators of viewership in a fragmented television market like India.
?TAM?s sample size is a concern for broadcasters, especially for niche channels whose base is small,? said Rohit Gupta, president (ad sales) of Multi Screen Media (MSM), which owns Sony Entertainment Television. ?There?s no consistency in ratings and the segmentation of markets (SEC A, B, C) is not proper.?
At present, TAM has about 8,100 people meters installed across 167 cities. ?We plan to scale that up to 10,000 meters in 225 towns,? said LV Krishnan, chief executive officer, TAM.
TAM, an alliance between Nielsen, Kantar Media Research and Indian Market Research Bureau, is the only agency in the broadcasting industry that collects data from TV households and tabulates them to determine television viewership patterns. Its findings are influential among broadcasters, media agencies and advertisers.
MSM?s Gupta, however, said that funding has been an issue for TAM as installation of people meters is a costly exercise. ?TAM needs to install more people meters and that requires funds. The Indian Broadcasting Federation (IBF), agencies, channels and advertisers need to arrive at a consensus on this.?
TAM?s Krishnan agreed and said, ?As the industry itself starts looking at larger sample sizes, a combined funding process has to be put in place.? He said that it cannot be the sole responsibility of the measurement agency. ?Industry bodies and broadcasters need to come together and see how TAM?s reach can be expanded because they are the ones who will benefit.?
Emails sent to IBF president Uday Shankar yielded no response.
The head of a channel, however, dismissed TAM?s claims of paucity of funds. ?TAM is a private enterprise enjoying monopoly in the industry. Funds are not an issue.?
TAM has also been criticised for inadequately reflecting Doordarshan?s reach because of its absence in rural India. ?TAM measures only urban viewership and that can be prohibitive for advertisers who want to reach rural markets,? said Nikhil Rangnekar, joint CEO of Spatial Access, a media audit company. ?TAM may get funds for expansion, but they will not recover them in the current cost structure. Hence, participation from advertisers is needed,? he said.
Some channels complain of discrepancies in TAM ratings and their own distribution data. ?Our ground-level distribution data often doesn?t match with TAM ratings,? said Prasanna Krishanan, chief operating officer of Neo Sports.
In March this year, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) had proposed to come up with independent TV ratings as a parallel to TAM. Sources say talks are on for a model where TAM would be a data vendor, while BARC would retain ownership. However, nothing concrete has emerged until now.
?I?m more optimistic about BARC?s ratings as that it?s a larger collaboration with more credibility,? Neo?s Krishnan said.
Broadcasters also say TAM should undergo process audits and a third-party should be appointed for it. ?There is no way to find out the exact number of people meters, their locations and their findings. We have to go by what TAM says. A third party audit is necessary,? MSM?s Gupta said.
TAM, however, justifies that it carries out strict internal audits and maintains ?Gold Standards? in data tabulation.