Indian TV viewers will miss many of their favorite ads on the idiot box from tomorrow. The Indian Broadcasting Federation, while making its act tougher, has made it clear that advertisers who will not cough up the additional 25% surcharge – introduced only recently – it will stop airing ads of defaulters.
It seems advertisers pay no heed to the apex body of advertising. Industry sources have said that the deadline for a commitment to pay has already passed today at 6 in the evening and almost no one obliges to sign up.
It looks like the Indian Broadcasting Federation has already sensed response like this. It has announced some waivers for those who have signed up earlier.
Following a meek response, the Federation now has every right to flex its muscles. It represents almost all the major television channels from the country like Sony, Star, Zee, NDTV and Sahara networks.
India has one of the lowest ad rates in Asia. Even the state run channels in China ask for more moolah from advertisers. The number of cable and satellite units in India has escalated from modest 42 million to a mammoth 70 million in the whiff of three years. Advertisers may cry foul, but the Federation too has a point.
