Bakom updates advertising and sponsorship guidelines

 The Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) has updated its guidelines on advertising and sponsorship issues. Initial experiences with the new Radio and Television Act (RTVA) and the corresponding ordinance (RTVO) have been incorporated, as detailed in a press release issued on Tuesday. The new guidelines replace those from 1999, which were initially adapted to the new legal basis in 2007. The guidelines are designed as a working tool for radio and television advertising and sponsorship specialists. They do not create new law. OFCOM explains legal terms and legal provisions and provides information on how it will decide on individual issues in future. For example, the sponsorship of short test programs, the application of sponsorship rules to co-productions with third parties and the requirements for the declaration of product placements are regulated in more detail and in some cases newly.
The guidelines now also regulate advertising. For example, questions relating to the maximum permissible advertising time, the correct placement of interstitial advertising and sensitive advertising content such as alcoholic beverages or medicinal products are answered. The advertising and sponsorship guidelines will be updated on an annual basis in future.