Republic TV has given Mid-Day and the Economic Times 24 hours to issue an “official public apology and corrigendum” for carrying an allegedly fake story about the network.
The story claimed that Hansa Research had paid the Republic Media Network Rs 32 lakh in what the Mumbai police reportedly described as “prima facie, a suspicious transaction”. It was Hansa Research, a private company contracted by the TV ratings measurement body BARC, which alerted the Mumbai police to the alleged TRP scam, leading to an investigation against Republic TV and a pair of Marathi news channels.
In a statement on Tuesday, Republic TV alleged the story had been planted by the police and demanded that they “either deny or confirm the story” by 9 pm today. “It is categorically clarified that Hansa Research has never done any business with Republic. The articles that have pedalled the fake story are completely wrong, bereft of facts, prima facie planted by the Mumbai police and certainly published without basic verification by the respective media houses concerned.”
It wasn’t Hansa Research which had paid the Republic Media Network, the statement said, but another company called Hansa Vision. “Hansa Vision is one such media agency which has done business with regard to a global brand with Republic for the purpose of advertising on our network. The payment made by Hansa Vision to Republic is in lieu of the on-air advertising done for the period of October 2017 to October 2018.”
In light of this, the channel demanded, the news outlets that published the report must apologise. “We are hereby giving Mid-Day and Economic Times and the Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited 24 hours to issue an official public apology and corrigendum (in print, on digital platforms, and across its official social media handles). Failure to do so shall and will result in legal action by Republic against them in 24 hours.” The Bennett, Coleman and Company is the media giant that owns the Economic Times.
Also Read: Explained: What's the 'TRP scam' and how was it done
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