ITV to remain bound by ad restrictions

British commercial broadcaster ITV will remain bound by advertising restrictions after the country’s Competition Commission ruled that the contract rights renewal system will be retained. 


However, the network will be slightly buoyed by the announcement that its time-shifted channel ITV+1 and its bouquet of high definition channels will be brought under the system, which will give these digital channels a boost. 
The commission kept to its decision  provisionally made in September – to keep the CRR system, that dictates how much the broadcaster can charge advertisers. 


“ITV remains a must have for certain advertisers and certain campaigns. Despite all the changes in this market, no other channel or medium can come close to matching the size of audience that ITV regularly provides. So the essential reason for the CRR undertakings remains to protect advertisers and other commercial broadcasters,” said CRR review group chairman Diana Guy. 
ITV said that it was unlikely to appeal the decision.