Opinion Rate of Interest
Can TV ratings be redeemed from monopoly?
Paid news has assumed fresh resonance,now that non-paying news is seeking damages. NDTV has filed suit in New York against transnational ratings agencies A C Nielsen and Kantar Market Research,who operate the Indian TAM Television Audience Measurement. It accuses TAM of rigging TV ratings to its detriment over eight years. It alleges that TAM officials were bribed by rival channels,that they influenced viewers with freebies,and that its peoplemeters were tampered with.
These accusations will be deliberated by the courts of New York,where Nielsen in headquartered. But lets consider another interesting feature of NDTVs petition,which suggests that wrongdoing became possible because TAM enjoys a monopoly. Though this has been eclipsed by the sensational claim of corruption,it is actually the larger issue.
In the TV business,ratings are everything. Programming is funded by advertisers who spend largely according to ratings. Ratings determine what you see at prime time and what is banished to YouTube. In politics,the economy,society and culture,they help to define what is mainstream and what is beyond the pale. A broken ratings system affects not only TV channels but all of society.
Ratings have been pilloried for many ills,especially televisions tabloid-ish partiality to grandstanding,sensationalism and trial by media. Channels claim that viewers want masala,as reflected in TAMs ratings. But in a monopoly situation,it is impossible to take a second opinion and challenge this.
NDTV argues that Nielsens monopoly gave it the nerve to carry on,regardless,even after the channel pointed out wrongdoing. In January,Paul Donato and Robert Messemer,executive vice-president and chief security officer of Nielsen,apparently met with NDTV officials in New Delhi and appraised TAMs operation. They seized laptops allegedly containing manipulated data and took them back to the US. Nielsen also committed to raise TAMs sample size from 8,000 to 30,000 but reneged later.
Neilsen ratings have been questioned in other countries on statistical grounds. NDTVs plea expresses surprise at the low rating accorded by TAM,while independent market surveyors find it to be the leading provider of English news. But Nielsens low sample size is known to foster unreliability. Theoretically,it is possible for the Nielsen Process to report zero viewership for a popular show. And even 30,000 is not a big figure for the Indian viewership.
NDTV ascribes the reluctance to increase sample size to commercial interest. It alleges that the promoters of A C Nielsen are slashing expenses to keep the share price afloat despite mounting debts,pending a cash-out which could earn them billions. If true,its a fine instance of how offshore commercial motives can influence domestic media.
If a monopoly caused this credibility crisis,the answer is to open up the market. A Broadcast Audience Research Council was promoted in 2008 by broadcasters,advertisers and ad agencies,but it has faltered because of differences over who owns the research process. Sam Pitrodas innovation gurus have urged government to join hands with industry to develop a ratings agency. Technically,generating gross ratings will soon be a trivial exercise because almost all homes that interest advertisers will be served digitally. Demographics would be missing,but the data would come from a huge sample and be verifiable.
But it would be useless to replace Nielsens monopoly with a home-grown alternative. If monopoly is the problem,there should be multiple agencies like in the credit rating business. And multi-stakeholder agencies with representation from the audience,which has been excluded so far. They would keep each other in line and with secure,transparent methodologies,they could even grab some of Nielsens international business.
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