Search results : 1507

On 24 February 2009, the Oberste Gerichtshof (Supreme Court - OGH) ruled that non-commercial advertising broadcast in return for payment is subject to the limits on advertising time laid down in broadcasting legislation. The plaintiff in this case was a private broadcasting company, while the defendant was Österreichische Rundfunk (Austrian public service broadcaster - ORF). The parties disputed whether ORF had exceeded the limit of six minutes of advertising on a particular day on a regional radio station. The courts ruled that this was the case if an appeal for donations to support the training...

The European Commission has opened an investigation into the long term State aid mechanisms proposed by the French authorities for the funding of France Télévisions, the largest French broadcasting group. France initially gave notice to the Commission of its intention to pay a subsidy for that year in January 2009, while in May the French authorities signalled their plan to introduce the multi-annual funding mechanism. The mechanism consists of funding from the public service broadcasting contribution and an annual subsidy, and forms part of the far-reaching reforms of the public service broadcasting...

The Deutsche Werberat (German Advertising Standards Council) has published a code of conduct on commercial communication for foods and beverages. The aims of this voluntary self-monitoring initiative are to ensure compliance with legal requirements and to promote competition. The code of conduct includes so-called general principles, such as the protection of consumers in their confidence in the quality of foods and beverages, the ban on advertising messages that counteract a balanced and active lifestyle and diet, or that encourage unbalanced or excessive consumption. The code also contains specific...

On 2 June 2009 the Lithuanian Seimas (Parliament) approved the Draft Amendment Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information in the first reading. The Draft Law seeks to enhance the protection of minors against the negative effect of public information by expanding the list of criteria on the restricted published information as well as by establishing a system of visual means (indexes) used for categorising TV programmes. The Draft Law provides that public information which encourages gambling and participating in lotteries and other games, where the impression...

The 4th Chamber of Συμβουλίο της Επικρατείας (the Administrative Court of Justice - StE) found the ministerial decision by which only a five-minute period is granted for the presentation of their views by means of a television or radio programme of their own production to political parties participating for the first time in the European elections to be legal. The Court decided that these parties operate in different circumstances than their more well-established counterparts and, therefore, the dedication of additional time to the latter, through the free transmission of advertisements (on television...