MILAN -- Italy's ruling center-left government has sent several new regs to Parliament as part of the TV reform bill. If approved, the regs will impact all the broadcast players, but most particularly Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset.
Among the key points:
- Stricter limits on TV advertising. Ad spots on commercial nets will be limited to not more than 15% of total airtime in primetime. Pubcaster RAI would have to limit its ads to not more than 5% of airtime in primetime. Telepromozioni, promotional stunts using a web's well-known personalities, will be restricted to not more than 2% of primetime.
- Terrestrial, cable and satellite broadcasters are to abandon all analog transmission by 2010.
The advertising limits, if enacted, would clearly most impact Berlusconi's three commercial webs, though analysts in Italy Wednesday did not think the regs would be unduly punitive.
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com