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Too many spots, ozone therapy draw fines
Over the top and out there
Broadcasters, generally, comply with the European convention on television advertising. Twelve minutes per hour is the limit even if some might argue about what, indeed, constitutes a TV spot. The point isn’t to keep broadcasters from making a lot of money but to keep viewers from tossing TV sets out the window, potentially injuring passing television executives.
The Greek media regulator National Council for Radio and Television (ESR) passed a €20,000 fine (January 24) to TV channel Mega for broadcasting 26 minutes of spots in one hour back in September. Other television stations received fines for more egregious offenses. For allowing a minor to participate in a game show TV channel Antenna was fined €15,000. Tileasty was fined €15,000 for broadcasting an ad for “ozone therapy,” considered an illegal medical product by the ESR. (JMH)
Ad spending inversion continues
Oh, my aching head
Ad spending in 2012 will drop to late 1990’s levels in Spain and stay there until mid-2013, says a panel of marketing and media managers, reported by Zenith España (January 23). The Zenith Vigía panel predicts a 2.1% drop in ad spending due to a drop in consumer spending blamed on lower public sector salaries, higher taxes and high unemployment.
Digital transformation as “analogue euros are converted into digital pennies” will continue to move ad spending from traditional media to new media. Daily newspaper ad revenues are expected to fall 7.2% as internet search advertising rises 7.8% and mobile ad spending rises 9.7%. All traditional media will feel the pain: network TV down 3%, local TV down 6%, magazines down 5.1%, radio down 1.8%, outdoor 1.5%. Ouch! (JMH)
Wheels coming off US anti-piracy bills
No speed bumps for internet
In what was described as “an unusual intervention,” European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes took to Twitter (January 20) to describe the two draft US anti-privacy measures as “bad legislation when should be safeguarding benefits of open net.”
Protests over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA - US House of Representatives) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA – US Senate) drew the attention of US politicians, mainly right-wing Republicans who exited co-sponsorship of the bills. The US entertainment industry has supported measures to robustly prosecute internet piracy. Internet and venture capital firms – worldwide - are opposed. US right-wing Republicans have had decades long battles with the entertainment industry over cultural and religious issues.
“Speeding is illegal too,” tweeted Commissioner Kroes separately (140 characters only, you know) “but you don’t put speed bumps on the motorway.” Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and US movie industry lobbiest Christopher Dodd both used wheel analogies (as in reinventing the wheel) in criticism and support, respectively, for the US legislation.
By mid-day Friday (January 20) US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid postponed a vote on the PIPA bill and US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith postponed committee consideration “until there is wider agreement on a solution,” reported CBS News (January 20). (JMH)
Broadcaster cuts World Cup bid
“difficult financial situation”
Financial considerations forced the board of Romanian public television (TVR) to withdraw from football World Cup 2018 and 2022 bidding. With several members abstaining the board was unable to approve TVR’s participation in the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) joint rights bid, which would have cost TVR about €200,000 on agreement, reported hotnews.ro (January 18).
“I regret very much what happened,” said TVR Director General Alexander Lazescu. “On the one hand, it is true that TVR is in a difficult financial situation. On the other hand, we do not know if the Romanian team will qualify or not.” In December the TVR board approved an austerity program that will reduce personnel costs by 25% in 2012.
At the same meeting, the TVR board approved participation in the Eurovision Song Contest with the condition that €120,000 is raised from sponsorships to defray half the participation fee. (JMH)
US right-wing and French socialist politicians agree on internet policies
We’ve entered the silly season
Politicians near and far are seizing that internet opportunity to distance themselves from aggressive laws that criminalize (or might) websites accused of trafficking in pirated content. Is it possible that internet piracy laws could become a campaign issue in upcoming elections?
As a business conference in Nantes (January 19), Socialist Party candidate for the French presidency François Hollande said he’d “remove” the notorious Hadopi anti-piracy law in favor of direct government support for the arts. “Hadopi is a failure,” said Hollande, quoted by Le Nouvel Observateur (January 19). (It) did not send one euro to creators. I don’t see a simple solution. We must find a cooperative solution to finance the establishment and the wider dissemination of creative works to the general public.”
“We will ensure a balance between copyright and access,” he continued. “We will call for contributions from (internet) service providers and (content) producers but also users.”
Yes, M. Hollande’s remarks came just one day after online protests by dozens of English-language websites over proposed US anti-piracy legislation. Several right-wing Republican Party co-sponsors of the SOPA and PIPA bills took the opportunity to drop their support. The SOPA (House of Representatives) and PIPA (Senate) bills may not be Hadopi Law knock-offs precisely but the result is the same, criminal penalties for accusations of internet piracy.
This may sound like cognitive dissonance, French socialists and US right-wingers on the same side of an important issue. It’s simple actually: Follow which politicians have the support of the entertainment industry and which do not. (JMH)
Editor “not offended” by Putin criticism
“I’m not kidding”
At a high-profile meeting with notable journalists and editors (January 18), Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin admitted he rarely reads newspapers, listens to radio or watches television. But there was this day when on a ski trip to Sochi with President Dmitri Medvedev a few weeks ago when he stumbled upon Russia’s Ekho Moscvy (Echo of Moscow) radio channel.
“I did not even know that this was your radio station,” he told the legendary editor-in-chief Alexei Venediktov. “Gibberish,” PM Putin called a discussion he heard on Ehko Moscvy about missile defense. “This is not information. Actually, it’s indecent,” reported by Kommersant (January 18). All of this was broadcast on State television. And there was more. (See more on media in Russia here)
“You seem offended,” said PM Putin to Mr.Venediktov.
“Yes, I am offended,” returned the editor.
"I am not offended when you pour diarrhoea over me all day long on your radio,” said the testy Mr. Putin.
“I was only joking,” replied Mr.Venediktov. “I was not offended.”
“And I’m not kidding,” said the Prime Minister ending the public part of the meeting.
On Ehko Moscvy Thursday morning (January 19), Mr.Venediktov said PM Putin’s criticism was “completely unexpected.” But “if I criticize he, why can’t he criticize me?”
Gazprom Media principally owns Ehko Moscvy, Mr. Venediktov and employees holding 33%. The channel is heard throughout Russia. In Moscow it’s audience regularly exceeds all State radio channels. (JMH)
Meters into the measurement void
“should not scare the market”
Audience measurement has long been a contentious point among Italy’s radio broadcasters. So contentious that ratings provider AudiRadio stopped reporting in 2010 and was officially “dissolved without litigation,” reported ItaliaOggi (January 13).
Into that measurement void – but not without broadcaster disagreement – are two large measurement suppliers, each touting electronic measurement solutions. Ipsos MediaCT will present its MediaCell mobile phone system to broadcasters (January 25). It’s a software solution – “the only meter without a meter” – Ipsos MediaCT has been developing and testing for several years that uses the microphone and retrieval capacity of mobile phones. Every Italian, it seems, has one or more mobile phones and the application is simply downloaded. (See more on audience measurement here)
Not counted out in the race for electronic measurement is GfK Eurisko, the Italian subsidiary of the market research giant that developed a measurement system several years ago. GfK also bought out the Swiss developed RadioControl audio-matching measurement system. Until recently, GfK Eurisko produced limited, interview-based radio audience measurement for several broadcasters. By summer the company will offer electronic measurement for radio “physiologically more traditional, but should not scare the market.,” said a spokesperson. (See more on media in Italy here)
Italy’s major radio broadcasters principally owned AudiRadio. Its last year-end gross reach results released – finally and partially – upon the company’s dissolution. Media house Mondadori and Gruppo 24 Ore declined to release 2010 figures for their stations, R101 and Radio 24, respectively. (JMH)
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