SRG's advertising freedom to be severely restricted
The implementing provisions for the new Radio and Television Act are still being fine-tuned. According to research by NZZ Online, the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) wants to restrict the SRG in the area of advertising but give private broadcasters more leeway.
The implementing provisions for the new Radio and Television Act are still being fine-tuned. According to research by NZZ Online, the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) wants to restrict the SRG in the area of advertising but give private broadcasters more leeway.
According to NZZ Online, Bakom will soon be publishing an explosive paper. It is a draft ordinance in which the authority outlines how it wants to distribute fee money to private local television stations and how large their license areas are. As contributions are being increased from 5 million to 28 million under the new Radio and Television Act, the media industry can literally hear the grass growing. Industry experts criticize the draft ordinance on the law as being too rigid for the dynamically developing media landscape.
The SRG is concerned that its freedom to advertise would be restricted in order to curb the commercialization of programme content and prevent unwanted competition from private broadcasters. The new law would prohibit SRG from the following: advertising interruptions in cinema and television films, sales programs, product placement, advertising messages on split screens and advertising on Internet sites. This would deprive SRG of millions in advertising revenue. Due to the extended fee splitting and additional requirements in favor of the visually impaired, SRG now fears that this could lead to major budget problems.
At present, 120 comments from industry and interest groups are being evaluated by OFCOM. A new version of the ordinance, which takes into account the more weighty objections, will be submitted to the Federal Council for assessment. A decision is expected at the beginning of next year.
According to NZZ Online, Bakom will soon be publishing an explosive paper. It is a draft ordinance in which the authority outlines how it wants to distribute fee money to private local television stations and how large their license areas are. As contributions are being increased from 5 million to 28 million under the new Radio and Television Act, the media industry can literally hear the grass growing. Industry experts criticize the draft ordinance on the law as being too rigid for the dynamically developing media landscape.
The SRG is concerned that its freedom to advertise would be restricted in order to curb the commercialization of programme content and prevent unwanted competition from private broadcasters. The new law would prohibit SRG from the following: advertising interruptions in cinema and television films, sales programs, product placement, advertising messages on split screens and advertising on Internet sites. This would deprive SRG of millions in advertising revenue. Due to the extended fee splitting and additional requirements in favor of the visually impaired, SRG now fears that this could lead to major budget problems.
At present, 120 comments from industry and interest groups are being evaluated by OFCOM. A new version of the ordinance, which takes into account the more weighty objections, will be submitted to the Federal Council for assessment. A decision is expected at the beginning of next year.
