Norway

[NO] Norwegian television provider, TV 2, fined for breaching sponsorship rules

IRIS 2026-1:1/16

Linda Andersen

Norwegian Media Authority

The Norwegian Media Authority (NMA) has imposed a fine of NOK 300 000 on the national television provider, TV 2, for breaches of the sponsorship rules during the television programme Tour de France for men, in 2025. The identification of sponsorships shown during the broadcasts were displayed for too long according to Norwegian law. 

According to Article 10(1)(c) of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), viewers shall be clearly informed of the existence of any sponsorship agreement. In Norwegian national law, there are additional rules on the maximum duration of such sponsorship identifications. Section 3-10 of the Broadcasting Regulation states that identification of an individual sponsor may last for a maximum of 15 seconds for each full hour of the programme. If a programme has four or more sponsors, the total sponsor identification must not exceed 60 seconds per hour. 

The violations were uncovered in connection with planned monitoring of seven programmes from Tour de France, between 7 and 27 July 2025. All of the programmes that the NMA scrutinised contained sponsorship identifications that were in breach of the rules on maximum allowed duration of such sponsorship identifications. Each broadcast lasted several hours, and all the monitored broadcasts had four sponsors. The sponsors were shown on five occasions within the span of one hour, and the exposure of sponsors therefore exceeded the permitted sixty seconds per hour. In certain hours, the sponsors were shown for up to ninety seconds. 

The NMA considered these findings to be a serious violation. The fact that the monitoring uncovered violations in all the broadcasts scrutinised means that there were several repeated and clear breaches over a short period of time. In these broadcasts, viewers were exposed to more commercial content than they should have been. One of the purposes of the rules on sponsorship identification on television is to make viewers aware that a programme is sponsored. This is meant to sharpen viewers’ attentiveness to the editorial content of the programme. It is not supposed to be an arena for excessive exposure of sponsors. Furthermore, the NMA also emphasised the fact that the broadcasts had high viewer numbers. 

In the event of a violation, the NMA can issue a sanction in the form of a formal warning or a fine. In this case, the NMA found that a warning was not sufficient and decided upon a fine of NOK 300 000. The NMA found that the number of clear violations and the large number of viewers argued in favour of a strict reaction. The decision emphasises that the NMA has taken into consideration, in TV 2's favour, the fact that the provider has implemented measures to prevent similar breaches of the broadcasting regulations from happening again.