Indian Government Seeks Ad Industry Views of TAM

India's fair trade regulator the CCI has asked the country's broadcasters, media buying and ad agencies to send feedback in the next two weeks on their views of audience measurement agency TAM Media Research, as it investigates claims of unfair practices.

According to www.thehindubusinessline.com , an official of CCI (Competition Commission of India) said companies had been instructed to comment by July 18th on the effect that Nielsen/Kantar joint venture TAM has had on their businesses - including whether TAM has abused its dominant position and/or created barriers to market entry for potential competitors.

The move follows allegations by Prasar Bharati, which owns public broadcaster Doordarshan. In addition to suggesting that TAM may have abused its dominant position in the market and thus violated Section 4 of the country's Competition Act, Prasar Bharati has suggested that TAM's sample size of 8,000 homes may not be adequate in 'a country with a population of over 1.2 billion'.

CCI's letter asks companies to 'give your comments on the alleged dominant position of TAM MRPL in the market of measurement of television viewership in India', and asks specifically if they have observed any behavior on its part which might constitute abusing its dominant position, denying market access for its competitors, used its position to get advantage in other markets or imposed any conditions of exclusive supply.

The Indian government first announced it would step in with its own investigation just under a year ago, a month after broadcaster NDTV filed a suit in the New York Supreme Court, accusing Nielsen and Kantar of violating the anti-bribery clause in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.