Key Points :
- After Bajaj spoke about the TRPs Scam and the ongoing ruckus regarding fake , aggressive and toxic news now it’s the Company Parle G who comes forward against the TRP -fixing rackets including Republic Tv.
- The senior category head of Parle Products made a statement where he said that the company will not advertise on news channels that ‘broadcast toxic content’.
- Many media people , media planners and buyers too have stated that they are keeping a close watch on how things evolve and whether they need to re-evaluate spends on these channels or not .
12 October , Monday Parle Products, the authentic maker of the Parle-G biscuits, said that “they will not advertise their products on toxic and aggressive Indian media channels.”
This comes between the huge outrage over ‘TRP Scam’ revealed by Mumbai Police on Thursday, 8 October.
In the press conference set by and for The Mumbai Police , said that its investigation into a complaint by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has discovered a racket of TRP-fixing by some channels, including Republic TV.
The senior category head of Parle Products Krishnarao Buddha said that the company will not advertise on news channels that ‘broadcast toxic content’, as reported by Livemint.
Parle Products has decided not to advertise on news channels that broadcast toxic aggressive content.
These channels are not the kinds that the company wants to put money into as it does not favour its target consumer.
It's time more companies join the lead of Bajaj and Parle. pic.twitter.com/LNXr9ytmBF
— Indian Civil Liberties Union (@ICLU_Ind) October 11, 2020
Buddha also made a statement that said that the company is also exploring possibilities where other advertisers can also put a restraint on their advertising on such channels that promote ‘toxicity’, reported Livemint.
On Thursday, 8 October, industrialist and Bajaj Auto managing director Rajiv Bajaj told CNBC TV18 that his company has “blacklisted three channels” for advertisement, as Bajaj Auto does not want to endorse “toxicity”.
Mr. Bajaj also added, as per Livemint: “A strong brand is a foundation on which you build a strong business. At the end of the day, the purpose of a strong business is to also contribute to society. Our brand has never associated with anything we feel is a source of the spreading toxicity in the society.”
A media buyer told Livemint that the advertising companies have been receiving inquiries from clients since the TRP issue came to the fore.
A media person also said,
“We are keeping a close watch on how things evolve and whether we need to re-evaluate spends on these channels.”
As reported by Livemint, another senior executive also revealed that the companies will continue to spend money on the said channels till the time inquiry isn’t completed.
An anonymous executive at an automobile company said that if Republic TV is proved guilty in the said TRP scam, then the company will move to another channel, but first, the channel needs to be convicted.
Amongst all these issues and statements were circulated, Mumbai Police, on Sunday, questioned Republic TV’s CEO Vikas Khanchandani and others in connection with the alleged rigged TRPs Scam : The Television Rating Points scam.
On the contrary ,Republic TV had issued a statement soon after Mumbai Police’s briefing, saying it would file a criminal defamation case against Parambir Singh : The Commissioner of Mumbai Police.
