Under-18 rule puts adult programmes at risk of regulation

Reaction to this week's announcement by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) of major restrictions on children's advertising has been mixed. Not surprisingly, few advertisers or broadcasters are objecting to the sections which deal directly with fast food and sugary products.

The section of the draft BCI code which has generated interest is the part that defines a child as anyone under 18. In many other jurisdictions, under-12 is the definition used.

The under-18 definition could be crucial. It means any programme where more than 50 per cent of the audience is under 18 will be subject to the restrictions.

At a BCI briefing earlier this week, the overwhelming view was that most programmes would escape the net. But, according to figures released by RTÉ, that may not be the case.

Take The Simpsons for instance, a programme that brings in significant ratings for RTÉ. According to RTÉ, on average 52 per cent of The Simpsons audience is aged 18 and over and 48 per cent are under 18. So The Simpsons would survive the clutches of the new code, but only just.

However, that is the average for the first few months of 2004. On certain nights, the majority of the audience is under 18. RTÉ estimates that about one in three episodes are dominated by under-18s.

The youngest audience was on March 16th when 65 per cent of viewers were under 18. If this was maintained, RTÉ would have to radically alter the advertising offering during this programme.

Earlier this year, some commentators suggested ratings toppers such as Friends might fall under the regulations.

But the RTÉ figures provide some comfort on this point. On average, 68 per cent of viewers are 18 or over. This may be surprising considering the programme regularly airs at 7 p.m.

The media buyer at McConnells media arm MCM Communications, Ms Fiona Scott, yesterday played down the potential impact of the 18-year-old definition.

"I think there is some exaggeration about what are and what are not children's programmes. My figures suggest that neither Eastenders nor Fair City has a 50 per cent under-18 audience. RTÉ will be most affected, because the code would have only impacted on two programmes on TV3 in March," she said.

Other advertisers reckon big multinational brands will simply not want to advertise on TV3 or RTÉ if their copy has to be accompanied by a health warning. The BCI has proposed that all children's adverts featuring sugary products or fast food must be accompanied by warnings or education messages.

A spokesman for RTÉ said yesterday: "The definition of children's advertising as advertising in any programme where 50 per cent of the audience is under 18 could lead to problems. RTÉ would prefer to see a graded approach which recognises that 15-18 year olds are much more sophisticated viewers of advertising than the under-12s. At the moment, we have no programmes normally regarded as adult where 50 per cent of those watching are children - but this could change."

At a conference on the subject of children's advertising yesterday, organised by Safefood, Senator Fergal Quinn, owner of Superquinn, said he was originally against restrictions, but was now coming around to the idea.

"Having originally assumed I wouldn't be in favour of the new guidelines - being symptomatic of a nanny state - I now find I am fully in favour of them. I don't think that adults are fully aware of the impact that pervasive advertising has on their habits, so it stands to reason that we protect children who are even less aware."

He said supporting such restrictions could be seen as pro-consumer, while also commercially astute. "I think it makes sense from a commercial point of view to respond to the consumers' concerns and do what's best for the consumer in the long term."

Meanwhile, the Dublin agency AFA O'Meara suggested this week the BCI move could reverse recent falling prices in the advertising sector.

"If the proposed BCI code on advertising is implemented in its current draft guise, it will reverse recent years' cost deflation in the TV market and probably give rise to added inflation on other media platforms such as outdoor posters and cinema, driven by increased demand."

The agency said that, by halving the programmes accessible to advertisers, the proposed code would "naturally push up the cost per thousand \ of kids' airtime".

The agency said children made up 15 per cent of the total TV viewing audience and tuned into more than two-and-a-half hours of TV every day.

AFA O'Meara said some agencies would simply shift their spending to foreign-owned stations, such as Nickelodeon and Sky One. But it said these stations could simply not deliver the huge kid audiences of the indigenous stations.

"Last year, more than 267,000 kids watched The Late Late Toy Show on RTÉ 1, and TV3's most viewed kids programme was The Karate Kid movie, which attracted 87,000".

Beckham scores highly

Kiss-and-tell stories from minor celebrities continue to drive ratings and the recent revelations about Rebecca Loos/David Beckham were not only of interest in Britain, but also here.

AFA O'Meara reports that last Thursday's Rebecca Loos/Beckham programme managed to pull in Sky One's largest audience in the UK all year - more than 1.6 million people. The Irish viewing audience figure must have pleased BSkyB executives with more than 182,000 Irish adults tuning into the interview.

eoliver@irish-times.ie