Albania

[AL] Regulator concerned about practices of advertising spots in audiovisual media

IRIS 2017-5:1/6

Ilda Londo

Albanian Media Institute

The Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA) organised a roundtable discussion on 16 March 2017, prompted by several concerns related to the practices of audiovisual media services regarding advertising spots. After monitoring television stations, the regulator identified violations in relation to the duration of the advertising spots and teleshopping segments. According to Article 41 of Law 97/2013 “On Audiovisual Media” the duration of advertising spots or direct sales must not exceed 12 minutes per broadcasting hour. The regulator’s monitoring results showed that both national and local television stations had violated this requirement, exceeding the allowed time for advertising on many occasions. Representatives of the regulator said they had communicated with audiovisual media operators both in written form and through individual meetings and had noticed a certain degree of reflection from operators in this respect. The Director of the Programming Section in AMA said that the monitoring of advertising practices of the audiovisual media had started in a regular manner from the end of 2015 and had continued in 2016, and he added that it was a priority for the regulator.

Another major concern identified during the monitoring of advertising practices was the advertising spots for medicines, medical institutions, and specialised doctors. For this purpose, representatives of the Order of Physicians and the Order of Pharmacists shared their own observations and concerns on the advertising spots broadcast on audiovisual media regarding medicines and medical institutions, based on the internal regulation and deontology of the profession of physicians and pharmacists. Another major concern was the practice of hidden advertising, often present in main news editions, as well as in programmes and talk shows, but not identified as such for the public.