MUMBAI: In a move that points to a lot of trouble brewing under the surface, Network18 and Star India unsubscribed themselves from the Television Audience Measurement (TAM). Top officials from both networks have confirmed that request letters have been sent to TAM to unsubscribe from the service.

Network18’s unsubscribing remains confined to TV18 and Viacom18 and comes into effect from 17 June, 2013. A few channels that come under TV18 include CNN-IBN, IBN-7, CNBC – Awaaz while the channels included under the umbrella of Viacom18 are MTV India, Nick, VH1 India and Colors. Meanwhile, Star India includes channels like Star Plus, Star World, Star Movies and Channel [V], among others.

However, these are not the first broadcasters to pull out from TAM subscription. Multi Screen Media was the first to unsubscribe from TAM followed by a spate of unsubscriptions from Sri Adhikari Brothers (SAB), New Delhi Television (NDTV) and Times Television Network.

Reports say that these broadcasters have been unsubscribing from TAM because they are unhappy with the way TAM has been functioning. Broadcasters feel that the ratings do not provide a clear picture of the viewership.

This barrage of unsubscriptions come in spite of various media agencies and advertisers like The Advertising Agencies’ Association of India (AAAI) and Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) coming out and providing their support to TAM. These media agencies and advertisers hope that the broadcasters resolve the issue amicably as they are still going to continue using TAM data.

It seems like battle lines have been drawn. Both broadcasters and advertisers will wait for each other to see who blinks first.