24. 12. 2010

ANEM COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ON THE DRAFT OF NEW ADVERTISING LAW

In late November, the Ministry of Trade and Services had published, and on December 6, 2010 presented at the round table a text of the Draft Advertising Law. By December 24, 2010, ANEM submitted its written comments and suggestions on the Draft Advertising Law to the Ministry. Upon receipt, the Ministry of Trade and Services informed ANEM that it would, after revising those remarks and recommendations, call the representatives of the Association to the meeting.

The essence of ANEM comments and suggestions concerning the Draft Advertising Law are:

1) Certain definitions should be made more precisely and corresponding to the Directive on audiovisual media services, which served as the base for the preparation of this Draft. In its letter, ANEM also gave suggestions of specific definitions of terms such as audiovisual media services, editorial responsibility, provider of media services, television broadcasting, audiovisual media services on demand and audiovisual commercial communication.

2) The Draft should clearly identify audiovisual media services on demand, to which only general rules on advertising would apply, in line with the provision of Article 9 of the Directive on audiovisual media services, while for the way in which the general rules on advertising would be applied, concrete recommendations have been provided.

3) Radio should not fall under the audiovisual media services, since it is not. Radio would be included in a separate part of the law, while the part that concerns audiovisual commercial communications should be relaxed of provisions and definitions relating to the radio. In this regard, particularly in relation to commercial radio, the rules should be liberalized, for which specific recommendations have been provided. On the other hand, in radio advertising on public broadcasting institutions, civil society radio stations and those of local and regional communities until their privatization, it should be necessary to apply the restrictions stipulated by this law for television advertising on public broadcasting institutions, civil society television stations and television stations of local and regional communities until their privatization.

4) In regard to new advertising techniques (split screen, virtual sponsorship), the recommendations prescribed in the Directive of the Commission interpretative communication on certain aspects of the provisions on televised advertising in the ‘Television without frontiers' (2004/C 102/02), for which specific suggestions have also been given.

5) In order to ensure the recognition of public service and its purpose, as well as the competitiveness of commercial media, ANEM deems that Article 49 of the Draft should include a new paragraph with the text: TV advertising or TV sales, in programs of public broadcasting institutions, civil society television stations and television stations of local and regional communities until their privatization, shall be broadcast only between certain programs.

6) ANEM deems absolutely unacceptable sponsored time slots for political advertising in public broadcasting institutions, civil society television stations and television stations of local and regional communities until their privatization, and in this sense the Article 107 of the Draft should be amended.

The entire letter (available only in Serbian) can be found here