Search results : 1524

On 7 May 2014, the Joint Committee of the Italian Parliament responsible for the oversight of public service media (Commissione parlamentare per l'indirizzo generale e la vigilanza dei servizi radiotelevisivi) gave its opinion on the draft national service contract, which will govern the relationship between Italy’s public service operator (RAI) and the Ministry for Economic Development (the Ministry) for the next three years. The national service contract is an act of paramount importance in Italian media policy insofar as it is instrumental in the definition of RAI’s public service remit, along...

On 15 April 2014, the German media authorities’ Kommission für Zulassung und Aufsicht (Commission on Licensing and Supervision - ZAK) issued its first decision on the lawfulness of virtual product placement. The investigation concerned the virtual placement of a poster advertising the film “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” in the RTL2 programme “Berlin Tag & Nacht” in February 2013, coinciding with the cinema release of the film. The ZAK concluded that the 15-second sequence did not breach the Land media authorities’ advertising regulations. The film poster had been embedded in the programme in...

On 6 May 2014, the Supreme Court confirmed a decision of the Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission of the Slovak Republic (“Council”), in which the Council had imposed a fine of EUR 16,000 on the major commercial TV broadcaster for failing the obligation to broadcast only fair teleshopping. The Council received a substantial amount of complaints against interactive quizzes offering money prizes broadcast on various TV channels. The complaints habitually referred to these as a “fraud” and questioned the core practises of such programmes, e.g. premium rate telephone numbers (PRTN), encouraging...

On 12 March 2014, the European Parliament (EP) adopted its Resolution on “Preparing for a Fully Converged Audiovisual World”. Reference is made to the European Commission (EC) Green Paper on “Preparing for a Fully Converged Audiovisual World: Growth, Creation and Values” of 24 April 2013 (IRIS 2013-6/5). The Resolution contains a number of observations, comments and recommendations concerning the values, definition, relevance, aims, role, and legal recognition of audiovisual convergence and its intricacies. After setting out all the relevant European and international regulatory and standard-setting...

On 15 March 2014 the presidential elections took place in Slovak republic. Therefore at the beginning of February the Council for broadcasting and retransmission of Slovak republic (hereinafter “Council”) published on its website a commentary that summarizes and interprets the relevant legal provisions concerning the election campaign in electronic media. The Council in its paper reminded the media that the broadcasting of any political advertising is prohibited outside the official election campaign time (21 days before election). This ban does not however apply to the broadcaster that broadcasts...