In its third annual report on the implementation of the Television Without Frontiers Directive the European Commission has reported that most MS TV broadcasting companies are respecting the quota system for European productions, as stipulated in Article 4 of the Directive, which requires a majority of broadcast output to be European-origin production. In 1996, 214… Continue reading EU: Broadcast quotas widely respected
Fears that the Commission’s Communication following up the Green paper on Commercial Communications might have been derailed by the Consumer Affairs Council have proved to be exaggerated. The Consumer Affairs Council last week took note of the Communication, with further work being remitted to the responsibility of those preparing for the Internal Market Council, which… Continue reading EU: Follow-up Communication unscathed
The Polish public TV broadcasting company Televizja Polska (TP) is facing a cut in its advertising levels following the probable passage of legislation through the Polish parliament. The proposed legislation will cut advertising by the broadcaster from 15 per cent to 10 per cent of broadcast time; TP currently earns two-thirds of its income (equivalent… Continue reading POL: Ad restrictions likely
American citizens are now able to get free long-distance telephone calls; the only ‘catch’ is that they must listen to advertising during the call. The scheme, called FreeWay, has been launched in Pittsburgh and entails the phone-caller building up a bank of free telephone time according to the amount of advertising they have listened to;… Continue reading US: Free phone calls
The Internet Advertising Bureau reports that advertising spending on the Internet in the US rose to the equivalent of £214 million in the final three months of 1997, against £68.75 million for the same period in 1996. In the UK, Internet advertising expenditure is set to reach £60 million a year in 1999; in the… Continue reading US: Internet ad spend increasing
The New South Wales print media have been told by the NSW health officer that if they publish photos of racing cars showing any tobacco logo they will be fined up to $30,000. Photos of the recent Melbourne Grand Prix had fallen foul of the law, and the health officer has warned that further transgressions… Continue reading AUS: Photos censored
The EC’s discussion document for a draft white paper on commerce has been debated by the Committee on Distribution and Commerce. The document appears largely to ignore the impact or role of commercial communications.
The EC is to refer Ireland to the European Court of Justice for its failure to communicate any national measures transposing Directive 92/100/EEC on rental right and lending right and on certain rights related to copyright in the field of intellectual property. The Directive is regarded by the EC as a key measure for completion… Continue reading EU: Trouble for Irish copyright law
The launch of ITV2, ITV’s digital terrestrial channel, is billed as an opportunity for advertisers to reach an audience ITV would die for – young, predominantly upmarket male light viewers who are interested in sport, music and light entertainment. While precise details of programming are still scarce, ITV2 has announced the kind of shows it… Continue reading Interview – Andrew Chowns, ITV2 Project Director
Barbara Roche, UK minister for telecoms, has said that Britain’s Data Protection Registrar is working on a proposal to prevent people receiving unsolicited e-mails through the insertion of suppression markers in their Internet addresses – a technique generally known amongst Internet users as “spamming” – and that the Direct Marketing Association is working on ideas… Continue reading UK: Government studies ‘spamming’
