To date, the sponsorship of entire television channels and radio stations (“channels”) has been prohibited.
When Ofcom consulted on the content of its Broadcasting Code (“the Code”) in 2004 one of the questions it asked was whether it was necessary to maintain the ban on the sponsorship of channels.
Responses to the consultation showed support for removing the ban. Additionally, research conducted in 2005 showed that viewers were likely to accept channel sponsorship as a funding source for television.
Ofcom published the Code in May 2005 and it came into force in July 2005. As a result of the responses to the Code consultation, the new Code did not contain a rule prohibiting channel sponsorship. In the statement published to accompany the Code, Ofcom announced that, subject to further internal consideration, it intended to permit this form of sponsorship.
In February 2006 Ofcom published a separate consultation on channel sponsorship. The consultation document set out the regulatory issues surrounding channel sponsorship including whether sponsorship should be open to all channels and how and when channel sponsorship should be identified.
The consultation offered options for addressing each issue and stated Ofcom’s preference in each case.
In all cases, Ofcom recommended that minor amendments be made to the existing sponsorship rules in the Code to clarify that they apply to channel sponsorship as well as programme sponsorship arrangements. In addition, Ofcom recommended publishing guidance explaining how the rules would be interpreted in relation to channel sponsorship arrangements.
The consultation closed in April 2006. There were 21 responses. Overall there was broad agreement with the following proposals:
- in relation to ensuring credits for channel sponsors do not result in undue prominence for the sponsor, Ofcom proposed to make no changes to the Code itself but to issue guidance on how undue prominence can be avoided;
- in relation to ensuring the basic principle relating to programme sponsorship applies equally to channel sponsorship, Ofcom proposed amending the wording of the principle to include all broadcast sponsorship arrangements; and
- in relation to ensuring that credits for channel sponsors are kept separate from other output, Ofcom proposed to make no changes to the Code because the existing rules can be applied equally to programme and channel sponsorship arrangements.
There was significant disagreement with Ofcom’s proposals on two issues. These were:
- Ofcom’s recommendation that the sponsorship of channels that broadcast programmes that cannot be sponsored (e.g. news) should not be allowed; and
- Ofcom’s proposal that, to ensure channel sponsorship arrangements are transparent, the sponsor’s name should not be incorporated into the channel name.
In relation to prohibiting the sponsorship of channels that broadcast programmes that cannot be sponsored, 12 respondents believed Ofcom’s proposal was unnecessarily restrictive. Many of the respondents who disagreed with Ofcom’s recommendation expressed support for one of the alternative options given in the consultation. This option would allow channels that broadcast a limited amount of unsponsorable content to be sponsored but prohibit the sponsorship of channels that broadcast a significant amount of unsponsorable content.
After considering the issue in the light of the responses received and the relevant statutory provisions, Ofcom now intends to permit channel sponsorship on all channels subject to:
- the channel broadcasting only a limited amount of unsponsorable content;
- clear sponsorship messages that do not suggest that unsponsorable content is included in the sponsorship arrangement; and
- sponsor credits not being broadcast around unsponsorable content.
Views on whether a broadcaster should be able to incorporate a sponsor’s name into the name of its channel were evenly split. Some of those in favour of allowing a channel to be named after a sponsor considered this arrangement would make the sponsorship relationship clear to audiences.
Again, we have considered the issue in the light of the relevant legislation and the consultation responses. We remain of the view that including a sponsor’s name in a channel name will not make sufficiently clear to audiences the nature of the relationship between the channel and the sponsor. We therefore consider that it is not appropriate at this juncture to allow a channel to include a sponsor’s name in its title.
As a result of the consultation, Ofcom has now amended the rules relating to broadcast sponsorship (Section 9 of the Code). The new rules are published with this statement (Annex 2).
In addition to the revised rules, Ofcom intends to publish guidance on how the rules will be applied to channel sponsorship by the end of this year. Licensees are advised to await publication of this guidance before entering into any channel sponsorship arrangements to ensure compliance.