MUMBAI: With NDTV‘s lawsuit against television ratings provider TAM Media raising concerns among the industry affiliates, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) have decided to meet with senior executives of the television ratings agency on 16 August.

Speaking to indiantelevision.com AAAI president and Leo Burnett chairman and CEO of India subcontinent Arvind Sharma said: "In the (current) environment where all has been reported about the NDTV-TAM case, we want to understand directly from TAM what the facts are. If there are genuine reasons to be concerned, and we are not prejudging that, ww will have to discus on what action can be taken."

Sharma also pointed out that a meeting with the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) is planned this week. "We are also trying to get together with the IBF urgently and it hopefully happen this week to discuss the BARC issue," he added.
Star India CEO and IBF president Uday Shankar had earlier stated that AAAI and ISA are slowing the progress on BARC. In response, Sharma had said that the two advertising bodies were waiting for the IBF to respond to the draft document (incorporating memorandum and articles of association) sent to the IBF a while back.

The AAAI, ISA and the IBF are stakeholders in the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). While the IBF holds 60 per cent stake in BARC, AAAI and ISA equally share the remaining 40 per cent.