On 5 March the European Court of Justice (ECJ) gave a preliminary ruling in a seminal case concerning Sweden’s state-run retail alcohol monopoly (which generates six per cent of the national tax revenue). The case could have significant repercussions for Sweden’s state finances as well as for other European countries with similar monopolies. There are… Continue reading EU: ECJ Condemns Swedish Monopoly
Mario Monti, the EC Commissioner for the Single Market, is understood to be seeking a decision on whether the Commission should draft a Directive on the harmonisation of rules on media ownership. The Commission will debate this issue on 12 March. It is understood that Monti has achieved an understanding with Martin Bangemann (Industry Commissioner)… Continue reading EU: EC Studies Harmonisation Of Rules
Canal Plus, the French pay-TV broadcaster, has complained to the Conseil de la Concurrence (the French competition court) that its rival, TF1, is abusing its dominant position in the French TV market, via its advertising subsidiary, TF1 Publicite. It appears that the basis of the complaint is the claim by Canal Plus that TF1 Publicite… Continue reading FR: Canal Plus Brings Competition Case
The UK Direct Marketing Association has drawn up guidelines for best practice in direct marketing, and is seeking responses from the industry. The guidelines cover such issues as the development of an email preference service and customer service standards. Copies of the guidelines are available online from [email protected].
The Vatican has issued a 30-page report entitled “Ethics in Advertising” in which it calls upon advertisers to desist from using allegedly sinful imagery and standards. Prepared by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the document accuses some advertisers of making “deliberate appeals to such motives as envy, status-seeking and lust.” However, the report also… Continue reading IT: Vatican Report On Advertising
A study by the Newspaper Society into single copy sales has reported that regional newspaper readers are buying less frequently or reading someone else’s copy. Jim Chisholm, speaking about the project said: “Readers enjoy the newspaper but are getting out of the habit of buying it, we need to reintroduce the ritual of purchase.”The report… Continue reading Readers Sharing Rather Than Buying
DG XIII of the EC is drawing up a green paper on the issue of the increasing convergence between broadcasting and telecommunications.
On 21 February the French Senate amended a Broadcasting Bill to ensure that 20 per cent of radio frequencies for independent operators will be reserved for French-language broadcasting. The Senate also created a working group of members of parliament and broadcasting executives to study advertising on regional programmes on terrestrial channels.
A federal appeal court has found in favour of a group of Nevada TV stations, who sought to overturn a ban on the advertising of casinos. The court backed an earlier judgement, from 1992, that the ban – a federal law since 1934 – violates broadcasters’ freedom of speech.
A lobbying organisation has started a campaign in the US to press for restrictions on the promotion and marketing of alcoholic beverages and tobacco via the internet. The Centre for Media Education (CME) says in a report just published that “many of these new forms of advertising, of particular appeal to youth, appear to be… Continue reading US: Lobbyists Campaign Vs. The Internet
