Fears over new EU television rules

A Parliamentary watchdog committee warned this week that if the government fails to persuade Brussels to change its proposed TV advertising rules, it could threaten children’s television in the UK.

The European Commission's Television Without Frontiers Directive is proposing to ban advertising breaks on children's programmes lasting less than 30 minutes. The rule may also be applied to ad breaks during documentaries, religious, news and current affairs programmes.

In a report to Parliament, the House of Lords European Union Committee, chaired by former Tory minister Lord Freeman, expressed concern over the implications for free-to-air services, particularly children's programmes.

Five’s deputy head of corporate affairs Martin Stott said the proposed rules would put more pressure on the economics of children's programming. "That would mean either that, sadly, we will make less children's programmes or we are likely to have less original kids' programming and we will have to buy in cheaper imports," he said.

Broadcasting minister Shaun Woodward has said he will oppose the new directive, which if it goes ahead, will come into force this year, giving the UK a three-year window to implement the changes.

Programmes like ITV's late evening news bulletin, which has had an ad break since 1967, would also come under the new regulations.

Woodward's department of for culture, media and sport acknowledged the new directive would have a "negative effect" on the transmission of programmes.