Government to allow product placement on UK TV

The government will this week announce that product placement is to be allowed on British TV shows.

Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw is expected to announce a three month consultation period on changes to the current rules at a Royal Television Society speech later this week.

According to Ofcom the move could be worth up to £35 million to commercial broadcasters over five years.

The news was welcomed by ITV. It said in a statement: “If the Government does decide to permit product placement, it will be warmly welcomed by the commercial broadcasting industry and advertisers alike.

“ITV plc has led the campaign for product placement in the UK, which could be an important new revenue stream – as it already is in Europe.

“Reforming the UK prohibition would also be a welcome acknowledgement of the pressures currently faced by an industry in transition. New sources of revenue mean better funded content, which can only be good news for viewers.”

The IPA has also come out in support of the move, saying that it believes the relaxation of product placement rules will benefit the creative industries and pose little risk to the integrity of UK programming.

Geoff Russell, IPA director for media affairs, said: “The fact is that product placement is already with us through sport and in imported programming from overseas. What is being proposed will just allow a more level playing field for the UK programme makers and media owners to compete with their counterparts in the USA and continental Europe.”

In March, the previous culture secretary, Andy Burnham, expressed doubts about the introduction of product placement in the UK.

“I am well aware that a number of commercial broadcasters are facing difficult economic times and I will continue to work with the industry to explore ways we can support them, but my preference is to consider all other avenues before allowing product placement,” he said.