14 December 2005
European law makers are set to allow product placement within commercial TV.
Currently, most EU states prohibit TV channels from engaging in "surreptitious advertising" - where companies pay for certain products to be included within television programmes. The practice is common in both US TV and Hollywood.
But proposals announced by the European Commission will see the rules swept away, allowing broadcasters such as ITV to solicit advertising within TV programmes. Rules on time devoted to advertisements will also be abandoned.
Vivian Reding, commissioner for media and information, said that the current Television Without Frontiers ruleset, established in 1997, is due for renewal. "Since then there are many more television stations," she told the Guardian.
"The system for product placement is complete anarchy at the moment. My aim is for Europe's audiovisual content industry to flourish under one of the most modern and flexible sets of rules in the world."
British broadcasters will have to wait for regulations to be updated by the national regulator, Ofcom, before they will be allowed to sell in-program advertisements. It is expected that product placement will be banned from children's TV shows, news and documentaries.
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