Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Not OK quite yet...

The skittish Richard Desmond may be finding, once again, that tv is more regulated than he would like.  It seemed certain when he took over Channel 5 last year that he would network's contract with Sky News, in favour of some multimedia Daily Express/Star/Crusader output from Northern & Shell HQ in Lower Thames Street.   Yet this week we learn that the contract for bulletins at 5pm and 7pm now stays, with Emma Crosby moving into the old Natasha Kaplinsky seat, albeit at a considerable cheaper rate.   And Northern & Shell HQ may be on the move to Luton.

He is, however, committed to some form of OK! TV taking over the Live at Studio 5 slot, apparently as soon as next month. But the daddy of all regulators, the European Union is clear that the boundary between television advertising and television content must not be breached.  So whilst a show may share a title with a magazine, it's debatable to what extent they might share content.   A story taken from a published magazine may look awfully like a promotional item for that magazine. A story previewing something that may appear in a future edition of a magazine may look awfully like a promotional item for the magazine.

Others have been here before.  The story content of Top Gear magazine has to be entirely different from the tv show.    The magazine may, of course, preview and review the tv show, but it's a foul the other way round.   Still, I'm sure Desmondo and his advisors will work something out...

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