U.S. removes restriction on adverts

Press, 26 November 1982, Page 15

U.S. removes restriction on adverts

NZPA Washington The broadcasting industry and the United States Justice Department have agreed to eliminate restraints on the duration of television commercials:

- The consent decree raised the possibility that eventually all restrictions would be dropped, including those governing the advertising content, broadcasting officials said.

■ The decision settled an anti-trust suit that the Justice Department brought against the National Association of Broadcasters' (N.A.8.) on July 14, 1979, charging that it was illegal for the members of the trade group to agree to restrict advertising. , The three major networks and their affiliates are -members of the industry’s leading trade group. Although it is a party to the agreement, the N.A.B. issued a strongly worded statement against it. “This is a sad day for the American public,” said Edward Fritts, president of the N.A.B.

“Pure and simple, today’s action means that the Government does not want television broadcasters to attempt to govern themselves by voluntarily limiting the amount of advertising broadcast into the public’s homes.” I'The agreement eliminates rules that restricted advertising to one product in each 30-second spot, limited the stations to broadcasting no more than five consecutive advertisements an hour. The effect of the decree is to eliminate a voluntary

code developed by the broadcasting industry 30 years ago. However, it does not alter a more permissive Federal Communications Commission guideline for stations limiting commercials to a

maximum of 16 minutes an hour. In New York, representatives of CBS-TV, NBC-TV and ABC-TV indicated that the decree would have no immediate effect on the fre-

quency and content of advertising. They said that any change would be likely to come from independent stations.