[Brekkie]

Currently the UK still has EU rules on advertising within Children's programmes, that prevent  centre breaks during any programme of 30 minutes or less. Nickelodeon and others get around this by, in a typical hour, listing one programme in a 31 minute slot (can contain ads) and another in a 29 minute slot (cannot contain ads).

It really is time that was adjusted and common sense took it back to 30 minutes.  If they want to enforce it set the rules on programme length rather than slot length, so a 22 minute programme couldn't be split.

Does anyone know the history of the ad rules in the UK.   Pretty sure when ITV started it was just two spots per ad break (although ads could be a minute long), and it feels like as a kid they were generally 2 or 3 minutes in the late 80s/early 90s before the standard 3:30 + 0:20 promo came into play around the turn of the century.    Think it was 2001 the additional break came into hour long programmes and longer, with another break added to programmes 70 minutes or longer towards the end of the decade.


One of the reasons I don't agree with the OFCOM proposals is basically maxing out on the adverts leaves very little room for innovation, experimenting with lighter ad loads and airing programmes which don't lend themselves to 12 minutes of ads an hour (i.e. live sport) - though I guess the counter argument is if airing less ads can be proven to be cost neutral they'll do it anyway and sacrifice the ad time.  

Plus of course other than less ads in news the PSBs don't particularly take advantage now of being able to show less ads - ITV for example could have run Dancing on Ice with one or two less ad breaks in recent years but they prefer to break and air promos instead, arguably prepping viewers for this point in time where they can replace promos with adverts anyway.