The UK government has published its official responses to the EC’s ‘issues papers’ on revision of the TV Without Frontiers Directive. Whereas Ofcom has showed sympathy with commercial broadcasters who want relaqxation of the rules in order to tap new sources of revenue, the government states:

“In relation to the rules on the identification and separation of advertising, the UK view is that one of the core principles enshrined in the TVWF Directive is that people should know � and be put in a position to recognise � when they are being sold to. The rules in any successor to the TVWF Directive should reflect this.

” The UK would therefore urge caution in abandoning the principle of separation so as to allow product placement. We recognise that product placement already takes place in, notably, popular cinematic works which are shown on television when they are not commissioned or produced by European broadcasters. But the fact that broadcasters cannot control this is not necessarily a sufficient argument for abandoning the rules on identification and separation where broadcasters do control the work.

“There are significant risks in the changes considered in the issues paper. First, that broadcasters� editorial decisions, both in terms of programming commissioned and the content of programmes, could be skewed in order to maximise the opportunities for placing products for promotional purposes. Secondly, viewers may not know when they are being sold to, as identification at the beginning of the programme, as is suggested, could either be missed or forgotten by the time the promotion takes place.”