Spots are spots, Spain or not, says European Commission

A strong letter went out to Spain this week from the European Commission. In effect it said, don’t parse definitions; TV ads are TV ads and you are airing too many.

“Spain has not taken the requisite measures to ensure effective compliance with all the provisions of the Television Without Frontiers Directive (TVWF),” said DG Info Commissioner Viviane Reding. “Everything must now be done to remedy this situation and to establish a genuine internal market for audiovisual media services.”

The problem, it seems, is that Spanish TV networks don’t quite see TV spots the same as Mrs. Reding. Not only are the Spanish TV broadcasters “incorrectly interpreting” TWF definition of “spot advertising” but they have too many on the air and far too often. TWF rules limit TV ads in the European Union to 12 minutes in any given hour and ad breaks no more frequent than every 20 minutes.

Forget that the “Television Without Frontiers” Directive is doomed for replacement sometime in the next couple of years. Right now, its rules are in force. And Mrs. Reding reminded Spain – and every other EU Member State – that the rules have not changed simply with the passage of time.

Spanish TV is a “paradise for product placement,” said Havas Spain’s Javier Hoyos to the Wall Street Journal in February. TV scripts are routinely submitted to sponsoring ad agencies for review.

Spain has two months to reply. - July 12, 2007

Keywords:television advertising, Spanish broadcasting

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