Ofcom To Relax Broadcast Sponsorship Regulations
Media regulator Ofcom has pledged to relax the rules governing television and radio sponsorship in a move that will allow broadcasters greater freedom to mix commercial messages into programme breaks and shows.
The watchdog has today published its draft Broadcasting Code cutting the number of rules that relate to the burgeoning sponsorship market. The move will see the ban on television news presenters appearing in sponsored programmes lifted and the restrictions surrounding the wording that can be used to describe the sponsors relationship to a programme relaxed.
Ofcom has also vowed to put the protection of children under the age under 15 at the centre of its proposed new programme guidelines. However, it insists it will step back from an ‘intrusive’ regulatory approach to the majority of adult programming.
The new regulatory approach follows research carried out for the Public Service Broadcasting Review, which showed that a staggering 85% of adults believe the protection of children should a main priority for the media super-regulator.
Ofcom said that a new code of ‘harm and offence’ would replace ‘taste and decency.’ Under the new rules the media watchdog will place greater emphasis on the context of a particular programme. Factors to be considered will include audience expectation, the type of programme, the channel upon which it is broadcast and the time of broadcast.
Commenting on the new code, Tim Suter, Ofcom’s partner for content and standards, said: “A healthy broadcasting system has creative, challenging and provocative programming at its heart. It also respects the desire expressed by parents for tough safeguards to protect children. The code aims to achieve the right balance between the two.”
Ofcom claims the new regulations were far shorter than those inherited from the previous regulatory structure, run by the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the Independent Television Commission and the Radio Authority. The new guidelines are expected to come into force in April 2005 and will cover all commercial television and radio broadcasters.
Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk
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