Lenka Hrivnáková, Author at The Association of Commercial Television

IN ITS FIRST YEAR OF OPERATION, THE ASSOCIATION OF COMMERCIAL TELEVISION BROADCASTERS INITIATED A DIALOGUE WITH ADVERTISERS AND THE GOVERNMENT

In its first year of existence, the Association of Commercial Television Stations set itself two main objectives. Through marketing activities, to raise awareness amongst advertisers of television as a key advertising medium and to engage in the process of drafting legislation with a direct impact on the commercial television industry. During its first year, AKTV also joined the Chamber of Commerce, where it is an active member of the Creative Industries Section, and has also become an associate member of the international trade association EGTA, which brings together television and radio media agencies.
The Association of Commercial Television Stations was established in the spring of 2017 in response to the growing need for commercial television stations to defend and promote their interests. The founding members were the Nova, Prima and Óčko television groups, with Jan Vlček from Nova taking up the first presidential term.
As part of its marketing activities, and in response to frequent unsubstantiated claims by global players in the online advertising sector, AKTV focused on direct communication with the most significant advertisers in the Czech Republic. During its first year, it organised two educational seminars aimed at the senior management of the largest advertisers, specifically managing directors and marketing directors. The common thread running through both conferences was the presence of exceptional international speakers and premium, highly topical content.
At the first event, Les Binet, a renowned expert and author of specialist books on marketing from the London-based agency adam & eve DDB, spoke on the effectiveness of advertising; whilst the keynote speaker at the second event was Australian university professor and researcher Karen Nelson-Field, who presented the findings of her latest research comparing the effectiveness of television and online advertising. This year, AKTV will continue these activities with the aim of responding to advertisers’ demand for relevant and unbiased information on the current status of individual media types and trends in their use.

“We have been hearing more and more often that television is dead and that online is the only future for advertising. However, as the data shows that time spent watching television is not only not decreasing but is actually increasing, we felt the need to highlight these facts to advertisers as well. For example, last year viewers aged 15 and over watched television for 3 hours and 45 minutes a day, which is almost a quarter of an hour more than five years ago and even half an hour more than ten years ago. Furthermore, television remains the most popular medium among viewers across all age groups,

says Jan Vlček, president of AKTV.

Part of AKTV’s marketing activities also involves active participation in the global initiative ‘The Global TV Group’, an unofficial grouping of associations of television companies and media agencies in Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and Central America, which aims to promote television broadcasting.
In addition to marketing awareness-raising, AKTV has also focused on legislative processes at both national and European levels. One such activity, for example, was a seminar on European audiovisual legislation, which AKTV organised in Brussels in collaboration with its partner association, ACT, for Czech and Slovak MEPs.

THE MEDIA MARKET JOINTLY SUPPORTS AN AMENDMENT TO THE MEDICINES ACT TO REGULATE ADVERTISING

Media operators and advertising agencies associated in professional associations jointly support the amendment to the Medicines Act, which will be voted on Friday in the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies and which proposes to repeal the latest amendment to the law on advertising regulation. In fact, last year, an amendment to the Medicines Act amended the Advertising Regulation Act by extending responsibility for the compliance of the content of advertising for selected types of products – human medicines, food supplements and food for special and infant nutrition – with the law to its mere disseminators. Until then, only those actually involved in the advertising of such products were responsible for the compliance with the law, as is the case for other types of products. The amendment seeks to return to the original form of the law on advertising regulation.

The problematic amendment, which introduced the joint and several liability of the advertiser for the compliance of the content of advertising for medicinal products for human use, food supplements, food for special nutritional uses and infant formulae with the law, has been in force since April 2017. It has not led to any increase in the level of consumer protection, it has just proved to be easily exploitable for the competition of the producers of the products concerned. Already last spring, the entire media sector warned that extending liability to the disseminators of advertising cannot lead to greater consumer protection. Advertisers do not have the professional qualifications or the legal tools to be able to gather the necessary evidence and make an informed assessment of whether or not the advertised product, for example, actually boosts immunity.

“Media operators understand that the aim of the amendment was to provide greater consumer protection, but shifting responsibility to the advertiser is not the right way to go. Consumer protection can only be increased by effective enforcement of legal obligations on advertisers. We hope that the legislators will understand this fact and support the amendment that returns the wording of the Advertising Regulation Act to its original form and reject the current amendment as unconceptual and unsystematic,”

comments Ján Simkanič, Chairman of the Association for Internet Development (SPIR).

Sdružení pro internetový rozvoj (SPIR)
Asociace komerčních televizí (AKTV)
Asociace televizních organizací (ATO)
Unie vydavatelů (UV)
Asociace provozovatelů soukromého vysílání (APSV)
Asociace komunikačních agentur (AKA)
Asociace českých reklamních agentur a marketingové komunikace (AČRA MK)

THE COMMERCIAL TELEVISION ASSOCIATION HAS BECOME A MEMBER OF THE EGTA AND THE GLOBAL TV GROUP, A GLOBAL PROFESSIONAL INITIATIVE FOR THE PROMOTION OF TELEVISION

The Association of Commercial Television Broadcasters (AKTV), which brings together the leading commercial television broadcasters in the Czech Republic, has become a new associate memberof egta, a professional association bringing together television and radio media agencies not only from Europe but also from other countries around the world. AKTV will represent the Czech Republic alongsideegta’sexisting members – the Nova and Prima television groups, as well as AtMedia Group.

In addition, AKTV has also joinedThe Global TV Group, an unofficial grouping of associations of television companies and media agencies in Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and Central America, which aims to promote television broadcasting.

Over the course of its 43 years of operation, egta has significantly expanded its scope of activity and its membership base, which currently numbers 139 members in more than 40 countries worldwide. egta offers its members support in the areas of research, marketing and networking, as well as assistance with advocacy and during the drafting of regulatory legislation. The association organises a wide range of international specialist conferences and seminars. Thanks to its extensive network, the association has contributed to the creation of the global initiativeThe Global TV Group, which brings together associations of television broadcasters and television advertising sellers from around the world.

“We greatly appreciate the support and trust we receive from egta in the day-to-day running of our organisation. AKTV’s agenda is wide-ranging, from marketing activities to public affairs, which is why we value our close cooperation and are happy to draw on the expertise of egta’s specialists,”saysJan Vlček, President of the Association of Commercial Television Stations.

“We are very proud to welcome AKTV as an associate member of the egta association and look forward to working closely together on our shared interest: the promotion of television broadcasting,”addsKatty Roberfroid, Chief Executive of egta.

The Association of Commercial Television (AKTV) is an association of terrestrial television broadcasters whose aim is to defend, support and promote the common interests of commercial broadcasters in the Czech Republic. AKTV was established in 2017 in response to the growing need for commercial television stations to defend and promote their interests. AKTV represents these interests in dealings with the government and acts as a partner in the dialogue on the drafting of national and European legislation. It also focuses on copyright protection and marketing and educational activities in the field of television broadcasting.

egta is a European trade association of marketers specialising in advertising solutions across (various) screens and/or audio platforms, with the aim of helping its members to protect, improve and expand their offering of content produced and broadcast linearly on television channels and radio stations.

egta’s members are media agencies that commercially exploit advertising space on both commercial and public service television and radio stations in Europe and other countries. The significance of the egta lies in the diversity of its members: these include independent media agencies and commercial departments within television or radio companies. They range from large corporations to medium-sized firms in smaller markets.

http://www.egta.com/

http://www.theglobaltvgroup.com/