WPP Requests Dismissal of NDTV Suit

WPP has filed a petition in the New York Supreme Court for dismissal of the lawsuit brought by broadcaster New Delhi Television (NDTV), which accuses Kantar and Nielsen of violating anti-bribery laws through their TAM joint venture in India.

In its filing, NDTV alleges that staff at TAM India took the bribes in order to falsify 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.

WPP's petition requests dismissal of all the claims asserted in NDTV's motion, and states: 'This case is nothing more than a desperate attempt by the plaintiff, a television station in New Delhi, to drum up media coverage in India to divert attention from the real reasons its programmes have had low audience ratings and its financial performance has been abysmal for five years.'

Last week, WPP described NDTV's claims as 'hypothetical' and NDTV responded with further claims that WPP is using its 'massive PR machine' to make baseless threats.

The New York Supreme Court has assigned Justice O Peter Sherwood to hear the case, which will come up for hearing on September 13, 2012.