Georgian Ratings Firms Square Up

In the republic of Georgia, state financed TV station Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) has threatened AGB Nielsen Media with legal action if it continues to distribute its ratings. Nielsen's representative in the region is also accusing competitor BCG Research of being unfairly awarded a government ratings contract.

GPB said in a letter to local advertisers that it is suspicious about the ratings data produced by research firm TV MR GE, which conducts TV audience measurement in the region on AGB Nielsen's behalf.

However, TV MR GE's Managing Director Nana Aburjanidze says that she is disregarding the threat: 'Suspicion of the ratings data produced by us has at least to be proved by international auditors before discrediting the brand of AGB Nielsen among market players,' said Aburjanidze. She believes that the threat to sue may have arisen after competitor networks Imedi TV and Rustavi 2 overtook GBP in the ratings.

She also alleges that a recent Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) tender, entitled 'Purchase and usage of People meters with appropriate software' and worth GEL 2m (c.EUR 844k) -- was won by BCG Research as a result of nepotism. According to Aburjanidze, the head of the commission is married to an employee of BCG; an agency which is owned by the wife of the Chairman of the Elections Committee and former Chairman of GPB's Supervisory Board.

However, BCG's Giorgi Bakradze denies this, stating that the tender was held quite fairly: 'Spreading gossip without any concrete facts is playing hardball,' he added.

AGB Nielsen started delivering peoplemeter data in Georgia in 2005 through TV MR GE's panel of c.300 households. BCG Research, which was founded in 2003, has nearly completed the process to install 500 GfK/Telecontrol people meters in eight Georgian cities in preparation for the start of the GNCC contract.

Web sites are www.agbnielsen.com and www.bcg.ge.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.