Broadcasting super-regulator Ofcom is consulting on proposals for a new broadcasting code. The ESA, the trade organisation of the sponsorship industry in Europe, has submitted a response, focusing on sponsorship, product placement and other branded content issues. Osborne Clarke’s Nick Johnson, who is also an ESA board member, introduces the ESA response.
The proposed new Ofcom Broadcast Code will, amongst other things, replace the old ITC and Radio Authority Programme Codes and the old ITC Code on Sponsorship. While Ofcom must operate within the limits set by the Communications Act 2003 (the “Act”) and the Television Without Frontiers Directive (“TWF”), the European Sponsorship Association believes there is scope within those limits for Ofcom to go further in liberalising the rules for broadcast sponsorship in the UK. See the submission for more detail.
