Indiantelevision.com Team

(15 October 2007 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: The tussle between the broadcasters and advertisers has reached an important stage. The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) has decided to meet over the 25 per cent surcharge issue on 16 October, the day broadcasters threaten to pull ads off air if their demands are not met.

According to an industry official, the stance among the community has hardened although the IBF deadline for agreeing to the surcharge is this evening.

The official says, "As of now no advertiser of any consequence has agreed to the surcharge. Around 50 large advertisers will meet to discuss our next course of action. If the broadcasters want to take our ads off the air at midnight, let them go ahead."

An official with the country's leading broadcaster says that ads will go off air for those clients who have not signed the surcharge.

Both Indian Media Exchange (IMX) president Shyam Shankar and GroupM CEO India and COO South Asia Vikram Sakhuja are sticking firmly to their stand that what the IBF is doing is illegal in terms of a unilateral demand.

Also read:

IBF holds firm on 'no surcharge, no ads' from Tuesday