A relaxation of the product placement and product sponsorship laws was recommended by the Internal Market and Consumer Protection board at the European Parliament yesterday, and will now move on for recommendation by the Culture & Education Committee.
The proposal is a step down the road for more liberal laws surrounding product placement. However, even if the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, a revision to the Television Without Frontiers Directive, is passed in Europe, member states will be able to self-regulate their own individual policy to the relaxation of the product placement and sponsorship rules, which would still give media regulator Ofcom the final say in the UK.
In the UK, brands are presently allowed to be used in television programmes where they help add realism, but brand owners are not allowed to negotiate with broadcasters over the way in which they are shown or referred to. In the US, paid product placement is legal.
Although the culture committee is the directive's lead committee, the proposals are being considered under "intelligent cooperation", which mean the opinions of the internal market committee will be reflected in the European Parliament's final position on the subject.
Syed Kamall, Conservative MEP, said that the vote should help to promote a more liberal directive, leading to a possible relaxation of product placement rules across Europe.
He said: "We must ensure our media industry is set the right conditions to thrive, not regulated into oblivion. The vote taken by our committee should promote a more liberal directive, with a strong country of origin principle.
"If we are to compete with the US and the emerging economies, Europe needs to be at the forefront of the new media revolution. But if we over-regulate the industry, we would fall behind the rest of the world in developing new media services."
Broadcasters welcomed the move because they see it is a way of shoring up revenues in an age where the 30-second television commercial is on the decline.
Advertisers are also in favour, because it is seen as a new way to make products stand out amid all the advertising clutter.
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