ITC Fines LWT £100,000

The Independent Television Commission (ITC) has fined LWT £100,000 after its series Club@vision breached programming codes by charging clubs to appear in the series.

The ITC received complaints last year that clubs were being asked to pay a fee and contribute to production expenses to ensure that they were included Club@vision programmes.

After conducting an enquiry the ITC found that several club owners had been contacted by an event promoter, working on behalf of the production company, and had been asked to pay fees and expenses ranging from £500 upwards. Other club owners claimed they had refused to make any payments and had subsequently not appeared on the programme.

The ITC ‘s investigation found that some clubs that were featured in the programme did not pay a fee, but all those that had agreed to the payment of fees were included in the programme. The commission also discovered documentation indicating that a substantial number of clubs believed that payment of fees and expenses was a pre-requisite to appearing on the programme.

The ITC concluded that the selection process was influenced by the paying of fees to the promoter and that this compromised the production company’s editorial judgement.

The promoter was deemed to be a representative of the programme maker and the inclusion of clubs in the programme in exchange for payment was found to constitute product placement and therefore breached the ITC’s Code of Programme Sponsorship.

The commission concluded that a fine of £100,000 was appropriate given the long running nature of the code breach and stated that “LWT should have been more rigorous” in its management of the production of the series.

ITC: 020 7306 7743 www.itc.org.uk

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