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07|10|08

Consultation on the amount and frequency of TV advertising

Ofcom today published a consultation on stage two of its Review of Television Advertising Regulation which is part of a comprehensive analysis of the rules on the amount and scheduling of advertising. The review outlines a broad range of options covering the amount of advertising on television, the number and length of advertising breaks, and the amount of teleshopping.

Following stage one of the Review, which dealt mainly with scheduling issues, Ofcom published a new Code on the Scheduling of Television Advertising (COSTA) - PDF, 73Kb.

Amount of advertising

Many stakeholder groups, including viewers, broadcasters, advertising agencies and advertisers, have expressed opposition to the suggestion of more advertising (now permissible under new European legislation). Ofcom’s initial preference is for no change to the overall amount of advertising on television, but it will consider alternative views on the range of other options carefully before making any decision.

Peak-time advertising

Ofcom is also seeking views on whether there should be changes to the rules on peak-time advertising on the main commercial public service channels – ITV1, Channel 4, five and S4C. We are inviting views on whether public service channels should be able to allocate the total weekly allowance flexibly, so that they could show more on one day than another.

Number of advertising breaks

Ofcom does not accept as some broadcasters have proposed, that there should be no rules on the number of advertising breaks within programmes. We are therefore consulting on what those rules should be. We are also asking whether exceptions should be made for programmes comprising separate parts (such as magazine-style programmes).

Teleshopping

Finally, we are inviting views on how much teleshopping should be allowed, both on the main public service channels, and on other channels, given the previous limits have been relaxed under new European legislation. Our preliminary view is that non-public service channels should be allowed to decide for themselves how much teleshopping to show, but that public service channels should only be allowed to show teleshopping overnight when audiences are normally very low.

Next steps

Ofcom’s consultation closes on 11 December 2008. Ofcom intends to publish a statement on its decision based on responses and other relevant considerations in the first quarter of 2009.

Stewart Purvis, Ofcom Content and Standards Partner, said: “We want to ensure that viewers continue to benefit from a wide range of advertising-funded television services, and that the arrangements for advertising and teleshopping don’t intrude more than is necessary.“

The full consultation can be found at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/rada08

Ends.

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