Yes absolutely there should be the same kind of message if your player is only "observed".
About the TS management, I don't suggest to play a whole competition with more than 18 players without any impact on the TS. I'd just like to be able to update/discover a player's skills with no impact on my NT's competitiveness.
Scouting 1000+ players in one week all by yourself is not fun and has nothing to do with strategic skills