Product Placement Concerns

Concerns about the future use of product placement in UK television have been raised by the Writers' Guild of Great Britain, reports The Stage.

Currently, product placement is banned in the UK, but a recent EU decision ruled that member states can choose to allow it in commercial television, except for specific genres such as during children's programmes.

EU member states are obliged to consider the EU directive and a UK consultation on the issue is set to get under way this summer, with the government due to give its final response next year.

However, the guild has outlined its concerns to Burnham ahead of this and has suggested that placement could lead to a writer having less control over a show's story.

"Will sponsors and advertisers purchase the right to have a product, such as a soft drink or brand of clothing, featured in a scripted show?

"Or will they purchase a right to exercise editorial control over the humorous or dramatic content of the show? We would caution against any changes that fundamentally change the editorial decision-making process," it said.

Writers' Guild deputy general secretary Anne Hogben added that a "worst case scenario" could see a writer told that a character had to drink a certain product or drive a certain car and said: "It could mean a writer had to act as a free copywriter for advertisers."

One assumes that this legislation will affect Irish television as well.