The Media Research Users Council (MRUC), in its response to the controversy surrounding the leakage in television panel lists in Mumbai on Monday and subsequently in Chennai yesterday, today offered to take up the role of a monitoring body and ensure that the research is credible and economical.

The resolution came after a rather heated meeting held immediately after the release of the IRS 2001 Platinum Report (a study of the media and product consumption habits of India‘s top 3.7 per cent sampling six metropolitan cities), has committed to offering suggestions on how to rectify the systemic collapse.

Among those who actively participated in the discussions were advertising and media doyen Roda Mehta, Rathnakar Rai, MD, Primetime-IP Media Services Ltd, Ashish Bhasin, president, Initiative Media and Andrey Purushottam, MD, Starcom.

There were some key key points that came through in the discussions:

1) Need for accurate data;

2)People meters are the best option;

3)There were definite doubts in the minds of users / industry;

4) There were concerns expressed as to the way the samples were organised - both in size terms and the bundling of panels in very close proximity.

Bhasin suggested that till a proper response was given by the research agencies (TAM and INTAM), the industry should suppress the data given by the two organisations. He also demanded the total revamp of all the panels, not just in Mumbai, but all over the country.

Purushottam urged that the merger process of the two agencies be accelerated while at the same time instituting clear controls on the functioning of the new entity with regards to data collation.

Mehta lamented the lack of investment being put into quality research by the industry saying: "A healthy industry needs good healthy research."

She saw MRUC‘s role (provided adequate funds were made available by the industry) as an overseer, designing the research methodologies and monitoring the fieldwork.

This whole exercise will be futile if funding was not made available, Mehta said.

It was also suggested that the MRUC and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation have a meeting to thrash out key issues required to be addressed so as to get things in order again.

A step that MRUC has agreed to take.

The latest TAM ratings are out. And the entire industry is agog about one revelation: not one of Zee TV‘s new shows figures on the Top 100 list. Old diehards such as Mehandi Tere Naam Ki (65), Amanat (74) and Koshish Ek Aasha (99) are Zee TV‘s candidates in The Top 100.There is some sniggering about this amongst rival broadcasters and producers, who are saying we told you. The question is: why the excitement about this development or non-development?

No one at indiantelevision.com expected Zee TV‘s new shows to spring up in the Top 10, let alone the Top 100, overnight. And we don‘t think anyone at Zee TV expected it either. There are enough professionals within that organisation that understand the television business and the fact that programmes grow on audiences and audiences on programmes. A Kaun Banega Crorepati happens probably once in a lifetime. And expecting a repeat is like expecting sextuplets every time you go for delivery in the maternity home.

Indiantelevision.com is of the view that Zee TV‘s new shows should be given at least another six weeks to stabilise and generate the ratings (if the ratings systems are allowed to continue). (The channel‘s management has said the new shows will run their 13-26 episodic run).

We expect at least four of the new shows - we cannot predict which because all that depends on the marketing and promotion push that Messrs Goyal and Sinha give - to pop up in The Top 50 in the time frame predicted.

The second school of thought questions the basics of some of Zee TV‘s programmes. Do most Indians want to watch cross-continental shows? Or is it a microcosm that wants such programming? Will these shows work well with Zee TV‘s audiences in Europe and the US? They well may but production values have to be stepped up for those audiences. Additionally, will Indians in interior Maharashtra or Varanasi indentify with them? There is a big question mark there.

And a couple of months down the line, the past year may seem just a memory.

ANIL WANVARI,
CEO, INDIANTELEVISION.COM

In a bid to stave off allegations about manipulation of its ratings, A.C. Nielsen conducted a validation exercise today. According to TAM chief L.V. Krishnan, the validation exercise done across two points and consisting of two samples (one containing part of the list doing the rounds in media offices and one without that part) in April 2001 and 1 September 2001 highlights the fact that there has been no manipulation of ratings.
According to Krishnan, the Mumbai list which has been leaked has only 228 homes. "Our current panel strength is 312 homes and only 35 per cent of the leaked list homes exist; the rest have been done away with," he points out.

"We constituted two samples. One - set A - which has identities revealed and another which we called Total which had set A and the sample which did not have the identities not revealed," he reveals. "If the ratings were truly manipulated, then the ratings for the two sets of samples below would vary dramatically."

"But both in terms of channel share and Top shows in both April 2001 and September 2001 for both the samples, there were very marginal differences," he says. "This shows that there was no rigging." (Click here for Tam‘s presentation on the validation exercise)

"We reassure the industry that there has never been any tampering of the data," he points out. "Steps are being taken to enhance security systems. On the technology front, we are examining new options for retrieving data through telephone/radio/cellular modems - minimising manual interfaces."

Now it is over to industry to say its piece.