Life

NCC eases policy on product placement, title sponsorship

• Publication Date：08/09/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  June Tsai

Product placement and title sponsorship will soon be allowed in TV programs, with the exception of news and children’s shows, the ROC National Communications Commission said Aug. 8.

The purpose of the measure is to stimulate investment in quality local productions and market Taiwan’s TV content both domestically and overseas, the NCC said.

In product placement, or embedded marketing, firms pay to have their branded goods appear in films or TV shows. Title sponsorship refers to the practice of paying to have one’s company name displayed prominently before the program title.

These two forms of advertising will be allowed provided they do not interfere with the independence of program production, do not encourage viewers to purchase products made by their sponsors, and do not disproportionately or irrelevantly highlight certain products, according to the NCC.

“The names of sponsors must be fully disclosed before, during and after broadcast,” said Jason Ho, director of the commission’s Department of Content Affairs.

Tobacco ads are still prohibited, however, Ho said, while alcoholic beverages can only be advertised after 9 p.m. Government embedded marketing will continue to be banned as well.

Under current laws, all embedded marketing practices are outlawed, but industries have called for revisions to allow funding of TV content that promotes local brands. As related amendments to the Radio and Television Act and Satellite Broadcasting Act have yet to pass legislative review, the NCC will use its administrative authority to promulgate temporary regulations following a consultative hearing at the end of August, the commission said. (THN)