Given just how irritating pop-up advertising is on the web, here's some good news (just who is it in the advertising industry that thinks that while you are desperately trying to close the pop up ad that is stopping you from accessing a website that you are going to think about buying that advertiser's products?). Anyway, OfCom have ruled that Five breached broadcasting regulations when they allowed Top Up TV to put up a banner advertising their digital TV services during programmes airing on the terrestrial channel. The banner read "Your TV may now be able to receive more channels. Press the RED button to find out how". Five tried to claim the banners were providing information for viewers learning about the switch over to digital TV, but OfCom ruled the banners were commercial not informative, and therefore the channel had broken the regulator's Programme Code.
In a statement OfCom said: "While accepting that it may be necessary from time to time to inform DTT customers of new 'free-to-air' channels they can view by resetting their boxes, the purpose of this message was clearly to promote Top Up TV - an additional service which requires a subscription fee to view the extra channels offered. It was not transparent to viewers that the message formed part of an advertising communication until after they had clicked the red button."