Broadcasting Authority fines One TV, NET, for surreptitious advertising

One Television has been fined €2,330 when a segment of the breakfast show Bongu Bundy was deemed to have breached the provisions in the Broadcasting Act on surreptitious advertising.

During this segment, what was supposed to be an educational slot on weight loss programmes was “nothing more than a surreptitious advert for the commercial weight loss programmes” provided by the same person invited to provide the ‘educational’ information, the Broadcasting Authority said.

NET Television, on the other hand, was fined €1,160 when the programme Malta Llejla was deemed to have breached the provision in the Broadcasting Act which requires editorial content to be clearly distinguishable from advertising.

In this particular case, footage shown in an information slot on home decor was again aired in an advert which immediately followed the information slot.

One of the main objectives of the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive of the European Union, which was transposed into Maltese legislation on 1st June 2010 following the necessary amendments to the Broadcasting Act, is the liberalisation of the previous EU advertising regime for the broadcasting media.

Accordingly, it is now possible for Member States to allow ‘product placement’ in cinematographic works, films and series made for audiovisual media services as well as in sports programmes and light entertainment programmes.

The previous requirement for a 20-minute time-frame between one advertising break and another has been dropped and new forms of advertising, such as ‘pop-up’ advertising, is now allowed.