Pampers or Huggies, Robbie?: Programmes such as Taggart will be allowed to charge brands to include their products.
In a revolutionary move aimed at providing a welcome cash injection into U.K. broadcasting during the current economic downturn, product placement will now be allowed on British televison.
The ruling means that independent commercial broadcasters, including STV, will be able to take payment for displaying commercial products during shows from later this year, the government announced earlier today.
There are some exceptions. Alcohol, tobacco and junk food are excluded and TV news, current affairs, consumer and religious programming will not be allowed to take advantage of the new rules. The ban will also remain in place for programmes made by the BBC.
Bobby Hain, director of Broadcast Services & Regulatory Affairs at STV, said: "STV welcomes these developments in product placement. This type of revenue is already used in the film industries and in other countries and will become a useful additional source of funding for television content in the UK."
Product placement has long featured in the film industry. Speaking about the lifting of the ban for TV in Britain Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Ben Bradshaw said in a written statement: "We have... decided to legislate to allow UK television companies to include product placement in programmes which they make or commission to appear in their schedules.
"Adherence to our current position in which UK TV programme-making cannot benefit at all from the income potentially to be generated by product placement would lead to continuing damage to its finances at a time when this crucial part of our creative industries needs all the support we can give it.”
He added: "It has become all the more important to make this move now that every other EU member state, with the sole current exception of Denmark, has either allowed television product placement already or has expressed a firm intention to do so.
"Not to do so would jeopardise the competitiveness of UK programme-makers as against the rest of the EU, and this is something which we cannot afford to do."
A statement by ITV said the company also welcomed the news.
