Repeal of Sunday advertising restrictions looming

Submissions to Parliament’s Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee on the Broadcasting (Repeal of Advertising Restrictions) Amendment Bill closed on February 7.

Late last year, the bill passed its first reading in Parliament by 94-29, with MPs being given a personal vote. NZ First, Greens and Te Pāti Māori MPs opposed the bill.

Currently, TV stations cannot broadcast advertisements on Sundays between 6am and 12 noon. TV and radio stations cannot broadcast advertisements on Christmas Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. On Anzac Day morning, radio can run advertisements, but TV stations cannot. There are no restrictions on advertising at these times for online sites like YouTube and Facebook.

Media Minister Paul Goldsmith said that the restrictions are redundant in the current media landscape, with people increasingly moving away from traditional, linear media.

Repealing the restrictions could generate approximately $6 million for the media industry, Mr Goldsmith said.

NZ First MP Jenny Marcroft, who is also the parliamentary under-secretary for media and communications, told Parliament that this nation has “heritage around Christian values. And, at the time, a boundary was drawn around carving out these days as meaningful for religious observance, so having a personal vote is important”.

“These boundaries that we draw around our working lives and our special celebrations are important, and we would be all the poorer without them,” she said.

Ms Marcroft acknowledged the shifts in audience habits and advertising revenue, and the argument about a level playing field, but said that the public and audiences should be heard on the issue, so it should go to select committee.

FULL STORY

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/media-insider/media-insider-sunday-and-holiday-advertising-laws-for-tv-and-radio-are-an-unholy-mess-now-theres-a-surprising-political-twist/DI5JYLUYJRCXBF6OKWQ7YUDTGM/ (By Shayne Currie/ New Zealand Herald/ Behind Paywall)

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/repealing-advertising-restrictions-media

https://www.parliament.nz/mi/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansD_20241218_20241218