Advertising Regulation and the Television without Frontiers Directive

Discusses the interpretation of Council Directive 89/552 (the Television without Frontiers Directive) on how often a television station may interrupt the broadcast of programmes and films to show advertisements. Considers potential difficulties in defining what is a programme and what is an advertisement, how to distinguish when one programme ends and another begins and whether a purported programme is so commercial that it should be treated as a disguised advertisement. Examines problems which may arise due to future digital developments such as split screen broadcasting, interactive television and virtual advertising.