European Parliament Relaxes Rules On TV Product Placement

The European Parliament has relaxed the rules on product placement on TV shows in Europe, with new laws which would require broadcasters to tell viewers every twenty minutes which branded products which have been placed in a show.

At a meeting held in Brussels yesterday, EU ministers agreed to allow product placement on TV shows, with the majority of ministers saying that it is imperative if the EU is not to lag behind competitors in the US.

Broadcasters are broadly in favour of the move as it will shore up revenues in an age when the 30 second advertisement is on the wane, whilst advertisers are also in favour as the new ruling will allow their products to stand out.

Towards the end of October, Ofcom published the findings of its consultation into the potential impact of product placement, coming to the conclusion that there was no consensus over its introduction (see Ofcom Publishes Product Placement Findings).

Speaking about possible relaxation to product placement rules in October, Syed Kamall, Conservative MEP, said: “We must ensure our media industry is set the right conditions to thrive, not regulated into oblivion. The vote taken by our committee should promote a more liberal directive, with a strong country of origin principle.

“If we are to compete with the US and the emerging economies, Europe needs to be at the forefront of the new media revolution. But if we over regulate the industry, we would fall behind the rest of the world in developing new media services.”

European Parliament: www.europarl.europa.eu