Prasar Bharati miffed with big players in IBF, row over new rating mechanism

Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has accused "certain big broadcasters" of monopolising the industry body - Indian Broadcasting Federation (IBF)- and keeping Doordarshan out of decision making, which, it claimed, was derailing the formation of a new mechanism for measuring TV viewership.

IBF officials, however, rejected the allegation that Doordarshan was being kept out of its decision making process for the creation of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), a alternative mechanism to TAM ratings to gauge viewership.

Sources said that upset at what the public broadcaster feels is its exclusion from the process of creation of BARC, Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar has raised the matter with I&B minister Manish Tewari and secretary Uday Kumar Varma.

"I have written several letters and mails pointing out to the complete monopolisation of the IBF by certain big broadcasters and the assiduous efforts made by them to keep Prasar Bharati and Doordarshan out of their decision making.

"The net result is that IBF went in for a series of confrontational posturing like contesting TRAI's 12-minute ad cap (which they relented) and spending so much on the baseline survey (their Establishment survey) for BARC, half of the data of which are readily available in the public domain," Sircar was quoted as saying in a letter to Tewari and Varma.

"This has derailed the setting up of BARC and they have excluded Prasar Bharati-Doordarshan out of it, despite strong message from the ministry," Sircar added in his letter.

Television audience measurement is presently done by TAM to determine the reach of broadcasters and forms an important basis on which advertisers choose channels to showcase their products.

Many broadcasters including Prasar Bharati have in the past questioned TAM's methodology. The public broadcaster felt that city centric TAM ratings did not reflect its massive pan- India reach and approached the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in this regard.

Following this, the I&B Ministry had encouraged the IBF to set up an alternate mechanism in the form of BARC.

However the IBF, said that there was no intention to keep Doordarshan out of loop. Secretary general of IBF Shailesh Shah said that "DD is on the board of BARC. There is no ambiguity there."

When contacted, Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar said that Doordarshan was invited, but just once and that too on the I&B Ministry's insistence.

"Despite MIB secretary Uday Varma's repeated insistence, BARC has left out India's largest broadcaster that has 450 TV & radio stations and 37 channels. After holding dozens of BARC meetings, DD was recently invited only once and that too because of Ministry's stance. BARC can't be just private broadcaster dominated," he said.

Ministry officials said that in the letter to the ministry Prasar Bharati also expressed apprehension that rating agency TAM could be pressurised by some broadcasters into not covering small towns in its audience measurement surveys.

TAM had earlier this year begun covering cities with less than one lakh population.

In his letter to I&B minister Manish Tewari and secretary Uday Kumar Varma, Sircar said that though a "partial de-skewing" of TV ratings had occurred with the inclusion of LC1 towns (those with less than one lakh population) in TAM surveys, there was a feeling that pressure may be exerted on the agency by some broadcasters for the exclusion of these areas.

"We feel that the recent decision of IBF which has not been conveyed either to government or to Prasar Bharati (though Doordarshan is a member), is to 'pressurise' TAM not to extend its reach to LC1 towns. If so, it is antithetical to all national norms and is in contravention of the Amit Mitra committee, which Ministry of I&B is trying to implement," Sircar wrote in the letter.

In the letter Sircar said that some big broadcasters had walked out of TAM recently adding that Prasar Bharati management felt that the step was intended "to get TAM back mainly to ‘Urban India’ and leave ‘Bharat’ altogether".
"We urge the ministry to take appropriate action to make this clear to the IBF," Sircar further wrote.

When queried, Sircar said that he had written the letter as recently there have been several reports in the media which suggest an attempt to create pressure on TAM not go to LC1 towns, ie, towns of one lakh people.

"Everyone knows that real India lies in villages and tiny towns. Even LC1 towns may be seen as big when compared to demographic profile of India. We have problems with TAM but we welcome any sincere effort to gauge TRP by reaching out to India beyond just urban pockets. Free to air also needs to be covered," he added.

He said that when TRP ratings are based on the "real India", ratings of regional media increase and Doordarshan too emerges ahead as it has presence all over the country.

"In the past 10-12 weeks, DD News has been number 1 in ratings during 9 to 10 PM prime time in English news, beating other channels by a wide margins. Between 8 & 9 PM we are either 1 or 2 in Hindi news also. This is thanks to the 'new look', but also after TAM reportedly started measuring smaller towns," Sircar said.

"As India's public service broadcaster, Prasar Bharati has to reflect the of majority of India and not just its urban elite. Any attempt by multi-national and big business players in our media to stand in the way may be seen as one more disconnect between urban India and the real Bharat. This may be profitable to a few, but very dangerous as a portent," he added.

Asked for his response, IBF secretary general Shailesh Shah said that he was not aware of the letter written by Prasar Bharati but added that there was no move to stop TAM from going to small towns.

"We don't intend to switch off LC1 towns. Not a single broadcaster wants LC1 switched off. Reducing the coverage is not the answer is not the answer," he said.

Shah said that some broadcasters were not happy with TAM data, but added that none of the solutions evinced included switching off small towns.