Non-pay-TV channels to suffer as RTÜK bans strip ads during sports broadcasts
The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) banned strip advertising during sports broadcasts. The ban includes all channels, encrypted or not, and received criticism since it will significantly hamper the commercial revenue of clear channels. The decision will believably lead to all sports broadcasts being encrypted in the long run, and the audience would be forced to purchase these channels in order to watch what they were able to previously access for free. The regulation banning strip advertising during sports broadcasts will be in effect for the 2015-16 season after being published in the Official Gazette.As per the RTÜK article regulating the "format and presentation of commercial advertisements and teleshopping broadcasts," strip advertising should be no greater than 20 percent of the display and these commercials should not be inserted to the broadcast in a manner that disrupts the wholeness, value, content and the message of the program. The same article previously prohibited commercials that blocked the display of athletes and the game during sporting events. This statement has been changed to include the prohibition of strip advertisements under the previously stated conditions. Another paragraph of the article that ruled the prohibition of commercials during news and children's program broadcasts was changed to the prohibition of commercials, including strip advertising, during news, children's programs and sports broadcasts, with the exception of pauses and halftime breaks. In short, the alterations to the regulations mean that the difference between strip advertising and regular commercials has disappeared. The channels will not be allowed to air any kind of commercial during sports broadcasts or during the breaks, and they will most likely feature regular commercials only, eliminating strip advertising from sports broadcasts entirely.RTÜK claimed the regulation was compatible with European broadcasting, as there are no strip ads during sports broadcasts in Europe. The council also suggested that these broadcasts only feature commercials during the halftime breaks and such pauses, but not when the game is on.