The Stage

Product placement ban to stay on UK TV

Published Wednesday 11 March 2009 at 14:20 by Matthew Hemley

Product placement will remain banned on UK television, after the government ruled there is a “lack of evidence of economic benefits” for allowing it.

The news has delivered a blow to commercial broadcaster ITV, which had hoped it would be able to generate extra revenue from having product placement in its shows.

A decision not to change existing laws which ban product placement on UK television follows a three-month consultation by the government, which had been obliged to consider product placement as part of the European Union’s Audio Visual Media Services Directive.

This directive allows EU member states to make individual decisions on whether or not they allow product placement.

Revealing the government’s decision today, culture secretary Andy Burnham said: “My priority has always been to make sure we maintain levels of trust between audiences and broadcasters and protect the standards of broadcasting for which Britain is known worldwide. I have listened carefully to the arguments on both sides around product placement and concluded that it should not be permitted in programmes made for this country. There is a lack of evidence of economic benefits, along with very serious concerns about blurring the boundaries between advertising and editorial.

He added: “We need to continue to preserve editorial integrity as technology advances.”

Burnham said that he was aware that some commercial broadcasters “are facing difficult economic times” and vowed to work with the industry to explore ways of supporting these broadcasters going forward.

However, ITV executive chairman Michael Grade has criticised the government for its decision and said he would talking to his legal team to see if there are grounds for a judicial review.

“Given the extraordinary economic pressures ITV - and others - face, we can’t let a decision like this simply go through without trying to fight it. We are considering our next steps and I am consulting my legal team as to whether we have a strong case for judicial review,” he said.

Grade added: “We believe that considered product placement, in the context of the robust regulatory framework proposed in the AVMS Directive, would bring more realism to programming, portraying a world that is recognisable and relevant.”

Meanwhile, Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan welcomed the announcement, claiming the broadcaster had “consistently taken the view that confusing the lines between editorial and advertising raises serious issues of trust for viewers”.

“Relaxing the rules would deliver a marginal commercial benefit and do little to redress the growing funding imbalance between state and advertising funded broadcasting,” he said.