TalkSport rapped over property promotion

Ofcom has criticised TalkSport for a show that breached broadcasting regulations by promoting foreign property deals with a company the station was linked to.

In October 2008, a special edition of The Jon Gaunt Show was broadcast from the Hotel Almyra in Cyprus, hosted by TalkSport's former DJ Jon Gaunt.

On the programme, which was aired a month before Gaunt made the on-air "Nazi" comment that cost him his job, the DJ covered subjects such as the banking crisis in Iceland, the division of Cyprus and buying property abroad.

However, three listeners complained to media regulator Ofcom that the show "amounted to advertising" through its promotion of property company Thomson OPI, resort developer Aristo and the Hotel Almyra.

In its latest Broadcast Bulletin, Ofcom agreed that the programme gave "unjustifiable exposure" to the hotel by being broadcast on location. It also ruled that TalkSport was guilty of several other breaches of editorial and compliance guidelines.

TalkSport admitted to having a contract with Thomson OPI that included provisions for editorial promotion, including an annual outside broadcast from one of the firm's properties.

The station claimed that the value of the agreement, which included Thompson OPI paying TalkSport a monthly fee and additional payments for any properties sold, was "very low".

However, the UTV Media-owned station accepted that the deal "ran contrary to the station's established compliance practices".

Despite noting that TalkSport had not received any sales-related payments from Thomson OPI, Ofcom ruled that the agreement still led to the programme being "distorted for commercial purposes".

The complainants also alleged that Gaunt had a "personal financial interest" in promoting Thomson OPI, but the DJ strongly denied those claims in his individual submission.

Ofcom said that it was TalkSport's "fundamental responsibility" to ensure the compliance of the material that it broadcasts.

The watchdog ruled that the programme breached broadcasting rules on independence of editorial control, separation of advertising and programming, and product placement.

It also said that the transgressions raised "significant concerns" about TalkSport's compliance procedures. The station must now provide proposals for improvement in this area.