Malta

[MT] Consultation on Programmes on Vehicles

IRIS 2007-5:1/26

Kevin Aquilina

Faculty of Laws, University of Malta

The Broadcasting Authority has launched a consultation dealing with programmes on vehicles. It has discussed television programmes on vehicles and their regulation in Europe and carried out a monitoring exercise of currently produced vehicle programmes on Maltese television. In its consultation programme, the Authority is proposing that such programmes should conform to the following:

- such programmes should not be of an advertising nature but informative and educational;

- such programmes will not be considered in breach of advertising regulations if several vehicle products produced, imported, retailed or hired by different automobile manufacturers, importers, sellers or hirers are presented during the same series of the same programme;

- it is permissible to mention the brand name of the vehicle and to sum up its good and bad aspects. But it will not be acceptable to mention only the positive aspects of a vehicle, to have repeated close-ups of the vehicle’s brand name or to have any close-ups of the showroom where the vehicle is exhibited, sold or hired. The producer must also ensure that the programme is balanced when dealing with such positive and negative vehicle features;

- it shall not be permissible to invite viewers or listeners to buy such vehicles during such programmes;

- whilst a programme on vehicles may be sponsored by an importer, seller, agent, or hirer, it shall not be permissible for such person to sponsor, either in part or in whole, the series of programmes on vehicles where more than half of the vehicles so sponsored are sold or hired by the said person. Nor will it be possible for such a person to sponsor a programme which features only the vehicles imported, sold or hired by the said person;

- it will be prohibited for a vehicle seller or agent to sponsor or advertise that edition of the programme where the vehicles imported or sold by that agent feature in that particular episode;

- the review of a vehicle’s features should not be conducted by a member of the importer or agent’s staff but by an independent expert such as a mechanic, vehicle enthusiast, etc…;

- promotional material should be avoided. Promotional material includes foreign promotional material supplied by the vehicle’s manufacturer or producer and which contains details of an advertising nature; or when the vehicle is given undue prominence beyond the informational pursuit (e.g. when the vehicle’s price is provided; information is given as to the agent or importer from where the vehicle can be purchased; when the vehicle is filmed in the showroom and the name of the importer or agent or other details of the showroom are given so as to identify the importer or agent);

- “vehicle” includes cars, buses, trucks, motorcycles and other means of transport of any class or description intended for the conveyance of persons or goods.

These rules, once approved, will become operational from 1 October 2007.