Excessive volume in commercials remains one of the most frequent complaints that television viewers bring to the attention of the Radio and Television Broadcasting Council (RRTV). This is according to the RRTV's latest annual report for 2024. However, none of the complaints from 2024 revealed any violations of the law. According to the RRTV, viewers often have misconceptions about the limits on television broadcast volume.
"The viewing public generally misinterprets the provisions of the law that set limits on the volume of commercial communications. Viewers assume that all television broadcasts should have the same volume level. However, this is not required by law," the council said, adding that the law applies only to the volume of advertising and sponsorship messages, not to the entire broadcast.
At the same time, however, it notes that operators are already "highly disciplined" in this area and that all cases examined were in compliance with the law. According to the regulator, the problem therefore lies primarily in the subjective perception and expectations of viewers.
Under Czech law, the volume of television advertising, teleshopping, and sponsorship messages must be set at -23 LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) with a tolerance of plus or minus 1 LU. This standard was introduced by an amendment to the Act on Radio and Television Broadcasting and the Act on Advertising, which came into force on June 1, 2013. Specific technical parameters are set out in RRTV edict.
Vulgarisms, unmarked advertising, and bias
In addition to the volume of advertisements, TV viewers' complaints traditionally included numerous reports of the use of vulgarisms in broadcasts, which viewers perceive as inappropriate. A significant proportion of complaints concerned the absence of program logos or insufficient labeling of programs containing product placement with the symbol PP.
Some of the complaints also concerned the content of the advertisements themselves. Viewers complained about allegedly misleading, repulsive, or offensive advertisements. However, the Council would like to point out that it assesses advertisements exclusively in accordance with the Broadcasting Act and the Advertising Regulation Act.
As usual, there were also numerous complaints about alleged bias or imbalance in news and current affairs programming. In 2024, there was an increase in the number of complaints in connection with the broadcasting of pre-election debates ahead of the European Parliament elections.
In terms of the protection of minors, the Council received several reports of inappropriate content, such as horror trailers or erotic and violent scenes broadcast at inappropriate times.
Notifications from abroad
The RRTV also dealt with a number of submissions from European regulators, mainly from Hungary and Poland. These concerned programs licensed in the Czech Republic but broadcast abroad. The most common issues were the absence of age ratings or content unsuitable for children according to national rules. In response to these complaints, the Czech regulator called on operators to comply with the stricter standards of the countries concerned.
Source: mediaguru.cz