To Be, or Not to Be – That Is the Question

It seems like British legislators are now facing this question. The reason – a debate over whether or not product placement should be allowed as part of programming after being banned for more than half a century, since the first ads occurred. The European commission is now reviewing the directive guarding cross-border broadcasting regulations and the Office of Communications in London, commonly known as Ofcom, is waiting for its decision before taking an official position.

The greatest obstacle to the introduction of product placement into broadcast programming is the “separation principle.” According to the European legislative framework this principle ensures that viewers are not misled about the nature of the content they are watching. And as the media watchdog, it is Ofcom’s duty to guarantee that distinct separation exists between programme and advertising content. And while viewers may see some controlled prop placement integrated into media programming, where it is considered to enhance the quality of the broadcast, product placement is implicitly prohibited because of its indisputably commercial nature.

Many people, however, correctly notice that people in the EU, in general, and the UK, in particular, have been exposed to product placement long ago because of the integration of US-produced programming into their media. If one just thinks for a moment of all the imported shows and films that are televised, they would understand that product placement has already crossed the ocean. So it seems the question legislators are facing is not whether or not product placement should be legalized but rather whether European program and film producers should be able to benefit from it. It appears that Ofcom is nodding approvingly “yes” to this question, however, it does not have the jurisdiction to officially do so without the prior approval from the European commission.

So European producers will have to wait to see whether legislators would finally “let them be.” As for now, their US counterparts are reaping all the benefits.