Speaking at a meeting of the Convergence Think Tank, set up by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, Burnham made it clear that he does not back moves to introduce US-style product placement into commercial British broadcasting.
He said: "Here and now, I do want to signal that I think there are some lines that we should not cross -- one of which is that you can buy the space between the programmes on commercial channels, but not the space within them."
He went on to say that it was the high standards in British broadcasting that made it valued, and that there was a "powerful economic argument" in support of maintaining these standards.
Burnham's comments come ahead of a consultation to be held in the summer, looking at whether the ban on product placement should be lifted. This has been brought about by the introduction of the European Union's Audiovisual Media Services directive.
Understandably, Burnham's comments have been met with disappointment by commercial broadcasters.
Peter Bazalgette, former chief executive of Endemol and the man who brought 'Big Brother' to our shores, is one of those who has hit back.
He told the Financial Times: "Free placement is already legal and already happening both on the BBC and commercial channels... as an example of protectionism, corporatism and centralism this is not only wrong but out of touch, really, really surprising and rather sad.
The US series of 'American Idol' features blatant product placement in the form of a Coke-branded glass in front of each of the judges. When the show is screened on ITV2 in the UK, the glasses are blurred so that the branding cannot be seen.
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