New RTE schedule increases number of sponsored slots

RTE's new television schedule begins next week and the line-up includes more sponsored programmes. It is a trend that is likely to continue, with the station now chasing commercial sponsors for all programmes with the exception of news, current affairs, children's and religious affairs programmes.

The most recent signing is a one-year £500,000 deal with Irish Life and Permanent to sponsor the new series of the popular medical drama ER.

The sponsor gets to be associated with a high-profile successful programme and to have a branded "sting" - which is like a mini-commercial - before and after each programme break. Unlike those on commercial stations in Britain, the stings must be silent. On ITV stations, for example, Cadbury gets to include a voice-over naming the brand before each episode of Coronation Street.

The most visible television sponsorship on Irish television is Eircom's link with Weatherline. At an annual cost of £600,000, the sheer frequency and high viewing figures for the weather forecast have been particularly important for the company this year during its name change from Telecom Eireann to Eircom.

The most straightforward type of television sponsorship is where a company or brand adds its name to an existing programme, as is the case with Bailey's and Friends. Another type is where a company partially funds the actual making of the programme, as with Irish Permanent and the interiors programme Beyond the Hall Door.

In all cases, RTE has guidelines which, for example, prohibit product placement in the programme by the sponsors or prohibit sponsorship by tobacco companies.

The guidelines also list programme types which cannot be sponsored. These include children's programmes - defined as programmes aimed at anyone under 14 years - although Wrangler sponsors a pop charts show which could arguably have a strong appeal to children.

For the station, sponsorship is a lucrative way of generating revenue while getting around the advertising cap.

Irish television stations can accept an average of six minutes advertising an hour. This is significantly less than the European average of nine minutes, and competition among advertisers for those six minutes this year has resulted in dramatic increases in the cost of air time.

Inflation of the cost of advertising time averaged 17 per cent for the first half of the year. The figures for the run-up to Christmas are expected to exceed that.

The rise in programme sponsorship is a throwback to the early days of broadcasting.