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Media
New product placement rules for UK TV and radio – full-blown payola still not allowed on radio
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 21 December 2010
As media regulator OfCom yesterday confirmed product placement would become legal in films, dramas, soaps, entertainment and sport shows on commercial TV networks in the UK from next February, new relaxed rules were also published regards commercial messages on non-BBC radio stations.
The legislative framework was put in place to allow TV and radio companies to charge brands for their products to appear in programmes earlier this year, though OfCom has been working out exactly how it will work until yesterday. Having now published some of its regulations governing product placement on TV, the main surprise in OfCom’s rule book is that shows in which products are commercially placed will have to display a logo that says so at the start and after any commercial breaks.
In radio land commercial networks will, for the first time, be able to charge brands for on-air coverage in programmes, though “appropriate signalling of commercial arrangements” will be required, whatever that means. Commercial messages will not be allowed during news or children’s programming.
Perhaps of most interest to the music industry is that the new rules do not allow the commercialisation of playlists, meaning payola – where labels pay radio stations to play their music – is still not allowed. The rules specifically prohibit commercial arrangements regards the “selection and rotation of music”.
Though presumably labels will be able to pay for DJs to more aggressively plug music during the links, providing they “signal appropriately”. And some worry that might result in commercial concerns influencing what music is played to an extent at least, even if the sales department is kept away from general playlisting. Time will tell, I guess.
