09. 11. 2006

RTS HAS MOST ADVERTISING VIOLATIONS

BELGRADE, November 9, 2006. (B92) - ANEM has stated that it is worried about Radio Television Serbia’s methods of advertising. The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) is asking the Republic Broadcasting Agency (RRA) to find a different way to finance RTS, which would be regulated by the Law for adopting precise rules for advertising and sponsorships on television and radio. According to the last report from the RRA, RTS has the most violations as far as commercial breaks are concerned and how big of a percentage of airtime is given to the purpose of advertisement. RTS, as a commercial transmitter, is allowed to broadcast commercials before, after and during shows, and ANEM adds that the cutting off of these shows infringes on the commercial sector of the company and does not help to stably finance the work of RTS. ANEM has called for immediate changes in the advertisement laws that would not allow RTS to broadcast commercial spots in this way, and the RRA released an analyses yesterday of the respecting of the Law by national television stations, which states that, in one week, six broadcasters with national frequencies violated the Advertisement Law a total of 1,224 times. The RRA stated that these are not just small violations, but include drastic violations of programming discipline, and the RRA reminded that there are very high fines for such behavior; from 50,000 to one million dinars.