Scottish TV breached Ofcom's broadcasting code when it featured an SMG owned-and-operated consumer advice website during a newscast, the media regulator said today.

During Scotland Today on August 7, 2006, a newsreader said: "When it comes to money choices, most of us would welcome the right advice. A new SMG website, Peopleschampion.com, has been set up to do just that. It’s offering extensive consumer advice and Vicky Lee’s been having a look."

The report then featured close-up shots of the site's URL and logo while Lee's voice-over said: "Peopleschampion.com is about finding you the best deal and helping you save money within four clicks of the mouse, so when it goes live in the next few weeks, you’ll be able to compare more than 8500 mortgages, the best deals in pet and medical insurance and search for bargain flights..."

One viewer complained that the report was effectively an advert for the site, especially given the common ownership of STV and peopleschampion. In response, STV said that the item did not breach undue prominence rules firstly because the site was not operational at the time of the report and secondly because it was editorially justified on the basis of SMG's "widely acknowledged" business interests in Scotland.

Ofcom said that "one of the fundamental principles of European broadcasting regulation is that
advertising and programming (that is editorial content) must be kept separate." It said that STV had breached rule 10.3 of the broadcasting code, which pertains to the promotion of non-programme related products and services, and rule 10.4, which pertains to undue prominence.