3 TV channels rapped by Ofcom for exceeding ads
Aaj Tak, SAMAA TV and Channel i have been warned by Ofcom for exceeding commercial airtime on their UK beams.
As part of Ofcom regulations, time devoted to television advertising and teleshopping spots on any channel in any one hour must not exceed 12 minutes.
While Aaj Tak committed the breach for the first time. Bengali entertainment service, Channel i has been warned previously. Ofcom said, “We have recorded five breaches of COSTA rules for significant minutage issues on Channel i and put the Licensee on notice that it would consider further regulatory action in the event of a recurrence. We are concerned that further breaches of multiple COSTA rules have occurred and therefore are requiring the Licensee to attend a meeting to discuss its approach to compliance in this area.”
SAMAA TV previously breached the same error in December 2013 and January 2014 after which it had assured Ofcom that it had taken steps to rectify the cause of problem. SAMAA TV accepted that it had exceeded the amount of permitted advertising minutage in the 21:00 clock hour on 2nd April 2014. The Licensee explained that this occurred as the result of human error when an advertising break lasting three minutes was played twice. It apologised for this error and assured Ofcom that it would work harder to avoid such instances in future.
Meanwhile, Aaj Tak in its apology said it was due to ���last minute urgency…accompanied with a technical problem�. The Licensee explained that when it had sought to insert a breaking news report in to a programme, a commercial break was accidentally inserted twice.
