Controversy is surrounding the audit of TV market measuring company TV MR GE.
The licensed representative of Nielsen Television Audience Measurement TV MR GE has accused the Government of harming the development of a free and competitive media market.
TV MR GE is the only entity in Georgia that measures television audiences.
The Head of TV MR GE, Gocha Tskitishvili, said the Revenue Service (RS) audit department fined the company 400 GEL for not providing it with the addresses of all households that have agreements with the company over the installation of devices to measure audience participation.
Tskitishvili believed this kind of information was confidential and he would not reveal this data.
Yesterday TV MR GE was also fined for hindering a RS representative from auditing the company.
At the end of February, the RS audit department launched an inventory check of the company. During this check, department representatives requested a list of all peoplemeteres – devices that are connected to TV sets which the company installed in several hundred urban households across the country in order to measure the peoples’ viewing behavior.
"Representatives of the [Finance] Ministry asked us to provide addresses of all households [who used peoplemeters]. This puts the credibility of research results at risk,” Tskitishvili said in a television comment.
The head of the Public Relations and Marketing Department of RS Khatia Moistsrapishvili said the audit department had worked within the law.
"The company did not provide the Revenue Service with documents reflecting the economic activity of TV MR GE. The company closed the door of one of its office rooms, where it is believed they were eager to destroy the documents,” Moistsrapishvili said.
However Tskitishvili believed in order to protect confidential information, TV MR GE offered the RS to collect peoplemeters from households in order to allow the auditors to check the equipment at the company’s office.
He said this option had been rejected by the RS, which argued that the law obliged its auditors to check the company’s equipment at the location.
RS said their actions were in accordance with local laws however TV MR GE argued this was unlawful.
Tskitishvili also spoke about private meetings between himself and a Georgian TV company, which he would not name, which despite spending money on the development of the television company and having low ratings, the company demanded he disclose strictly confidential information about citizens who used a peoplemeter in order to gain information about TV ratings. After this meeting, the RS entered the company and launched the investigation.
"I explained to them that I do not have access to that list and the list will not be of any use to them," Tskitishvili said.
Earlier today United National Movement MP Pavle Kublashvili said the owner GDS TV Bera Ivanishvili, who is the son of the tycoon and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, had ordered the ex-Chief Prosecutor of Georgia Otar Partskhaladze to check and to influence the credibility of TV MR GE ratings.
At present, TV MR GE representatives are holding meetings with the representatives of local television and advertising companies who use the service of TV MR GE. In the near future they also plan to meet with non-governmental organizations.