MTV: Over fond of advertising

The impression that MTV is awash in advertising has usually been unfair, maybe not. An Ofcom review of advertising minutage [pdf] on MTV channels has found that on "several" occasions it was showing more than the maximum allowed total of twelve minutes in any one hour - once, indeed, by an extra eight minutes.

MTV feels it can explain:

It stated that three of these incidents were the result of mistakes made during the implementation phase of a new computerised advertising airtime booking system and an additional advertising break had been inserted just prior to transmission. The impact of the change on total advertising minutage in the relevant hours had not been checked and an excess had occurred as a result. The broadcaster had subsequently retrained the relevant staff and improved its procedures to ensure that all clock hours were checked regularly prior to transmission.[...]
MTV explained that the remainder of the incidents had been due to programming either over or under running due to a mismatch between the original, planned, scheduled duration and the duration as actually delivered for transmission. This had had the knock on effect of pushing or pulling advertising breaks into the following or preceding hours, causing the total advertising minutage in these hours to exceed the 12 minute maximum. Transmission staff had failed to make appropriate last minute adjustments to the programming and the overall schedule to prevent such excesses occurring.

It's not clear which excuse is supposed to explain how an MTV channel carried twenty minutes of advertising in an hour, but neither seem particularly convincing from where we're sitting - an eight-minute underrun on programmes seems unlikely; it also seems unlikely that the 'extra' ad break inserted would have been eight minutes long (and, had it been, surely someone might have thought 'hang on - is this going to push us over the limit'?)

Still, Ofcom would not be bought off by such explanations, and has subjected MTV to strong writing-down-in-a-book of what it's done wrong:

Ofcom has therefore decided formally to record a breach of RADA 1.2. In the circumstances, and in particular the significant number of breaches involved and the time taken effectively to remedy the causes of these errors, the licensees should note that if further breaches occur, Ofcom may need to consider further regulatory action.

This isn't, of course, the most strict punishment Ofcom has its disposal - it could have chosen to tut loudly, or tell MTV it was very disappointed.

In the old days, MTV could have just stuck a pop video to fill the gaps.