UK Product Placement

ITV is pushing for regulatory change to allow for product placement during programmes in the form of on-screen logos, Broadcast reports today. Speaking at the RTS Conference, Network CEO Charles Allen said that the measure would be a possible solution to the threat from personal video recorders (PVRs), which allow viewers to fast-forward through ad breaks. Under such proposals, for example, the Cadbury’s logo could be “embedded” in Coronation Street throughout the show. Product placement is currently banned in the UK. “This regulatory change will take years because it?s through Brussels and not Ofcom, but we?ve already started working on it,” said Allen. He added that one other answer to the PVR threat would be to schedule more live programming that viewers don’t usually record.