TAM plans to challenge MIB guidelines in court

TAM Media is planning to go to the court against the latest guidelines issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). As per the guidelines, no single company/ legal entity, either directly or through its associates or interconnect undertakings, shall have substantial equity holding, that is, 10 per cent or more of paid up equity in both rating agencies and broadcasters/ advertisers/ advertising agencies.

This move was expected from the Kantar Media and Nielsen joint venture, as the ratings agency’s two parent companies have limited options left in wake of the new MIB guidelines. The situation seems to be slipping out of TAM’s hand as only 26 days are left for them to incorporate all the new terms and conditions.

This move from TAM may help if the agency gets a stay order for more than three months. Some industry experts believe that post the Lok Sabha elections, the situation may change in favour of TAM. At the same time, the industry is finding it hard to reason as to what has taken TAM so long to take the legal course as the new guidelines were expected much earlier and came after the consensus of all the stakeholders.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/national-news/item/4108-tam-plans-to-challenge-mib-guidelines-in-court.html