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Call TV programmes - programmes where viewers are invited to phone in or send SMS messages at premium rates in order win hypothetical prizes - have been under the scrutiny of the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (audiovisual regulatory authority - CSA) for several months. In 2002 the CSA adopted a recommendation establishing rules for calls at premium rates, which were authorised if they were “occasional and discrete” and if they were an extension of a programme being broadcast at that point in time. Call TV operates according to a different model, however, since the calls at premium rates are...

The Rada pro rozhlasové a televizní vysílání (Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting), the Czech Republic’s broadcasting regulator, is also responsible for regulating radio and television advertising. This responsibility is laid down both in the Broadcasting Act and the Advertising Regulation Act, which prohibits misleading advertising. In the past, the Council has imposed fines on several occasions for misleading advertising. The Czech parliament is currently debating an amendment to the Consumer Protection Act. The purpose of this amendment, which also involves an amendment to the Advertising...

The agreement on Switzerland’s participation in the MEDIA programme, concluded on 26 October 2004 between Switzerland and the European Union (EU) as part of the second round of bilateral negotiations, reached the end of its term on 31 December 2006 (see IRIS 2006-5: 9). Further to the negotiations launched in March 2007, the Swiss Confederation and the EU signed, on 11 October 2007, the renewal of this agreement so that Switzerland would be able to participate fully in the 2007 MEDIA programme. The text of the new agreement is only very slightly different to that of the agreement concluded in 2004....

On 7 November 2007, the Commission for Protection of Consumers banned the broadcasting of an advertisement from the company HILD Bulgaria. The Commission took its decision on the grounds that the advertisement was misleading in the sense of Article 38, para. 1 of the Consumer Protection Act. The advertisement is based on a dialogue between four famous Bulgarian actors, who are over 65 years, and the executive director of HILD Bulgaria. The following message is delivered in the advertisement: “HILD offers to all people older than 65 years a way to use their home in order to ensure their comfort...

The European Commission adopted its Sixth Report on the application of the “Television without Frontiers” (TWF) Directive on 24 October 2007. The Commission is required to adopt such bi-annual reports under Article 26, TWF Directive. The period covered by the Sixth Report is 2005 and 2006. The main objective of this report is to describe and analyse the salient facts relating to the application of the Directive during this period. The Report commences with an outline of recent developments in the television market in Europe. This explanation of developments is followed by a discussion of the Foreign...