ITV takes advantage of new sponsorship rules

OK, so Ofcom takes the next step in making life even easier for those poor and beleaguered commercial broadcasters (read: ITV) who keep on making bad commercial decisions therefore need some more 'support'. Ofcom seems pathologically unable to increase the level of regulation so for the time being the only way is downwards both for regulation and (inevitably) the content.

Meanwhile ITV's PR says that they are doing all of us a big favour by giving us five seconds extra to contemplate the benefits of Cadbury's chocolate (yeah right), though of course by making these sponsorship bumpers longer they run the risk of making even more viewers fast forward through the ads. Any further relaxation of the rules and the return of the "ad mag" can't be that far away.

Unfortunately this MediaGuardian article contains a factual error, notably: "The first sponsorship started in 1979", which should read (I think) 1989.