The Communications Commission has issued the TV broadcasters Teleimedi, Rustavi 2, Formula and Agromedia with a written caution for product placement violations. The Commission carried out monitoring of the programmes aired by the aforementioned broadcasters and found numerous product placement violations that affected the programme content and afforded excessive significance to the products. In case of Teleimedi, additional violations of sponsor identification rules were identified. 

Due to the fact that Teleimedi, Rustavi 2, Formula and Agromedia had not committed product placement violations during the past year, the Commission issued a written caution to the broadcasters. 

Last year, the Communications Commission held a conference on the subject of challenges on the TV advertising market and product placement, where media representatives and stakeholders were presented with the results of the study conducted jointly with media experts from the EU. The study found that although the Georgian legislation was in line with the EU standards, product placement rules were being grossly violated by broadcasters on a daily basis. 

During the event, ComCom also announced the decision to afford broadcasters a transition period until the end of 2024 to bring their work, approaches, and contracts with customers in line with the law. At the end of the transition period, the Commission will begin enforcing the law with full rigour. 

Within the framework of the transition period, ComCom representatives additionally held individual consultations with representatives of television stations, where examples of product placement violations, the legislative framework and guidelines were discussed in detail to ensure that all broadcasters could effectively implement the law from 2025. 

An advert placement violation is a gross violation of interests of the viewers, as it may influence their decisions. Furthermore, the placement of products in a programme must be clearly identified to ensure that viewer know what kind of commercial communication they are dealing with. It is therefore important that broadcasters comply with the Georgian legislation on product placement in order to avoid violating the rights of the viewers and influencing the programme content which, in turn, would negatively affect the quality of the product.