GMTV rapped over consumer expert

mystic_trev

GMTV was wrong to allow consumer expert Martin Lewis to promote his commercial website on Lorraine Kelly's show, broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has ruled.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8580143.stm

What's this all about then? Have Ofcom lost their marbles? I would have thought anyone was introduced as moneysavingexpert even an Alien would be able to track the site down!

co123456

I'd like to know who made the complaint (if anyone).

Anyway... someone messed up. Lesson learnt.

MSE_Martin

It's important I'm careful what i say as this decision is about GMTV not about me - so Im not going to engage in discussion on this - but as I've commented elsewhere, let me repeat those comments for users of the site too.

This was ultimately simply giving information about where to get free gym passes - and was about the gm.tv website (i am not allowed to mention moneysavingexpert.com on air at GMTV)

The team and I work hard to create hugely detailed guides, like bank charges and council tax reclaiming – which can take months of research; we also find and alert consumers to the best new money saving deals available from restaurant vouchers to railcard discount codes.

Like any newspaper, website or TV programme that believes in its content, we want as many people as possible to have access to it.

The links from GMTV’s site in that article gave people access to much more detailed, constantly updated, further information, something I think is extremely important – but a ruling is a ruling.

While some have reported this in a balanced way, a couple of websites have seen this as a chance to have a go as much as possible, which i find quite sad; yet i suppose it's the nature of the way things work.

It seems to have actually got more coverage than last week's major govt announcemnent changing credit card regulations - not sure about the priorities there.

Martin

LeeSouthEast

Supports my view that 'newsworthy' is just another way of saying "what will sell the most papers/page views".

irrelevant

Rather than read the re-hash that the newspapers are putting on it, here is the actual report from Ofcom. Scroll down for the GMTV part.

By inviting viewers to obtain further information and vouchers on the GMTV website, and then re-directing them to Martin Lewis’ commercial website to obtain that information, the programme was effectively promoting his business. As a result of this promotion, the programme was in breach of Rule 10.3 of the Code.

Basically, TV programmes are not supposed to promote any business. This is the same rule that saves us from Product Placement and all the evils that lie down that road. Even if the end result was of benefit to all the viewers.

odowdchr

irrelevant wrote: »

Basically, TV programmes are not supposed to promote any business. This is the same rule that saves us from Product Placement and all the evils that lie down that road.

You mean the ban that was lifted recently........?
It's been happening for years..mobile phones, computer monitors, cars...anything that they can't reasonably cover up without it looking artifical.

fifipat

What about all those people being interviewed about their new book, film, cd, etc? They are obviously plugging something that they will profit from whereas Martin doesn't.

KTM_Gordo

Seems like Ofcom is an ideal candidate for the (greatly missed) That's Life Jobsworth Award.

They even admit that "Irrespective of whether or not the site generated revenue as a result of the deals promoted within the programme, Ofcom considers that this third party website is nevertheless a commercial business."

Common sense? Sense it may be, common it isn't