A long-standing ban on showing commercial brand names on television dramas would be lifted under a proposal to relax regulations on sponsorship. The proposal, which would not cover other programmes such as talk shows and travelogues, was endorsed by the ethics committee of the Broadcasting Authority yesterday. The plan would be submitted for final approval at the authority's general meeting next month. The proposal was published with a raft of recommendations in February for a two-week consultation with TV stations, which generally welcomed the suggestions. The proposals also called for the showing of advertising slogans, product details and contact information before and after drama programmes. The Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority (Tela) drafted the amendments to the codes of practice on television advertising after consulting the stations during a licence review last year. The authority also looked at international practices in coming up with its recommendations. The Broadcasting Authority said: 'When the domestic free-television programmes service licences of ATV and TVB were renewed in November last year for 12 years, the government indicated that more flexibility would be provided to the licensees so that they could operate in a more conducive business environment. 'Among other things, relaxation on the restrictions on programme sponsorships and product placement was mentioned.' However, Tela has laid the ground rules that the introduction of commercial brands must be justified editorially and cannot be intrusive and gratuitous, and it must not interfere with the audience's viewing pleasure. Under the proposal, there would be no limit on how long the products and other identifying details could be shown during the drama programmes. At the meeting yesterday of the Broadcasting Authority's codes of practice committee, a discussion paper said that Asia Television (ATV) and Television Broadcasts (TVB) supported the proposals. However, Cable Television warned that such easing could lead to undesirable side effects, such as story lines tailor-made for commercial purposes. It could also fuel corruption, Cable Television added, as quoted by the discussion paper. 'The practice of product or service sponsorship would create opportunities for licensees' staff to give and take bribes in order to arrange a particular product or service to appear on a high-rating programme.' Tela said it appreciated the cable firm's concerns, but said these were adequately addressed in the revised proposals. The authority said the proposed ground rules should be adequate to ensure programme content would not be distorted by commercial motives. It said safeguards were in place to address concerns over potential abuse by advertisers. For instance, TV stations would be required to acknowledge all sponsored products or services featured in the programme to ensure that viewers knew they were watching paid messages. While Tela originally proposed to subject the proposals to a 12-month pilot test, members of the codes of practice committee yesterday said the trial period was unnecessary, as people unhappy about the changes could still lodge complaints through existing channels. stella.fylee@scmp.com
