Monday, May 21st, 2012
The X Factor is being accused of breaching product placement rules on television.
Ofcom, the media regulator, says that the show broke the rules by telling fans that they could download singles from the X Factor website.
Last October, presenter Dermot O’Leary told fans that they can download Diana Vickers’ single at the show’s website.
Producers attributed the error to a mistake in the script. However, similar wording was used in another show—this time to promote Michael Buble.
Initially, Ofcom said that the show breached rules on the broadcasting code. However, since the references weren’t made after a financial agreement with a music download service, it was later said that the show did not break any of the rules.
