Norway

[NO] Amendment of Broadcasting Regulation

IRIS 1997-7:1/19

Liv Daae Gabrielsen

Statens Medieforvaltning

The recently amended Norwegian Broadcasting Regulation has entered into force. The new set of rules replaces several former provisions and unites all rules relating to broadcasting in one single Regulation. The amended Broadcasting Regulation implements the Directive on `Television Without Frontiers' in more detail than before. It explicitly stipulates that the broadcasters are obliged to reserve 50% of their transmission time for European productions, and 10% for independent productions.

The already existing prohibition concerning the broadcasting of advertising in conjunction with childrens' programmes has been extended to ten minutes before and after the programme.

The amendments to the Regulation also introduced penalties for broadcasters which act in violation of the rules governing advertising and sponsorship, The amount of the penalty fee is to be calculated in relation to the effective number of viewers or listeners at the time of the violation.