NDTV Slams WPP 'Hypothetical Lawsuit' Claim

Indian broadcaster NDTV has hit out against a statement issued by WPP yesterday, and its use of the word 'hypothetical' to describe NDTV's claims of ratings fixing at the TAM Media Research joint venture.

Last month, NDTV (New Delhi Television) filed a case in the New York Supreme Court, accusing Kantar and Nielsen of violating anti-bribery laws through their TAM (Television Audience Measurement) joint venture in India.

NDTV alleges that staff at TAM India took the bribes in order to falsify the ratings data, and says that at a meeting it attended with several of these field staff, they claimed they could influence what panellist households watched if they were paid between $250 and $500 per household per month.

Yesterday, WPP said that it is considering proceedings against NDTV for defamation, while claiming that the 'hypothetical lawsuit' had not been served on itself, or any of its operating companies referred to in the allegations.

Today, NDTV issued its own statement in which it says if finds it 'strange' that WPP refers to the suit as hypothetical, as it is available for everyone to read on the Supreme Court of New York's web site.

NDTV said that lawyers acting on behalf of Nielsen have been in touch with its own lawyers and have requested an extension, while Kantar's CEO Eric Salama has also been in touch and acknowledged receipt of the complaint.

In the statement, NDTV added: 'We suggest WPP refrain from using their massive PR machine to make baseless threats against NDTV. Instead we request that WPP should focus on honestly fixing their badly damaged and dishonest ratings system in India. While many may attribute sinister motives to WPP's statement which is full of factual and legal errors, NDTV would give them the benefit of the doubt and assume WPP has made a silly error which simple cross-checking through their internal systems will soon correct. If all else fails, for details of the complaint we suggest they visit the Supreme Court of New York's web site where the 'non-hypothetical' complaint is detailed in full.'

NDTV Group is led by CEO Vikram Chandra (pictured).

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.