Great volume of sponsorship messages in television programmes during second wave of coronavirus pandemic

Published: 24 February 2021

Compared to the previous period, 7.4% more sponsorship spots appeared in national commercial TV programmes in the second half of 2020 – still mostly related to the construction industry – revealed a new study approved at this week’s meeting of the Media Council of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority. The body announced the winner of the Nyíregyháza radio tender and approved the draft of the notice for two other frequency tenders in the countryside.

Construction companies the most active sponsors of television programmes in 2020 too

According to the latest NMHH study – approved by the council – on sponsorship practices in television, 86,559 sponsorship messages appeared in the programmes of the examined channels in the second half of 2020 and the number of sponsor companies jumped to 1,915. The most frequently accessed television channels broadcast a total of 82,032 spots, with TV2 showing the most (47,036), followed by RTL Klub (26,682) and Duna TV (8,314). By the second wave of the coronavirus businesses were already more prepared because compared to the 76,343 sponsor messages sent out by the permanent sponsors in the sample in the same period of 2019, the number of sponsorship spots grew by 7.4% in 2020. Austrotherm Kft. appeared most often as a sponsor – 3,003 times – followed by Baumit Kft. with 2,019 and Velux Magyarország Kft. with 2,011 messages, which showcase the renewed dominance of the construction industry in advertising, just like in the same period in 2019. Most of these sponsorship appearances were included in the weather programmes of TV2 (18,934) followed by the RTL Klub Reggeli programme (3.871) and the weather forecast of the same channel (3,247). Adverts and sponsorship messages are both commercial communications: in the former the advertiser may offer its products and services directly for consumption or use, while in the latter the advertising element of encouraging consumption may not be apparent, but the sponsor company can promote its trademark, image and activities.

Permanent fixtures in the sample included the national commercial television channels with the largest viewing numbers – RTL Klub, TV2 – and the public television Duna TV. Besides them, the nationally broadcasted channels of M1, M4-Sport and M5 as well as the commercial channels of Pesti TV, Sláger TV and TV 4 were also included in the sample for one month each. The whole study can be read on the NMHH website.

The Media Council approved a study on the online audience measurements for 2020 Q4, according to which 72.35% of the Hungarian population over 15 years old use the internet. The study pinpointed the significant differences between the internet use of the various generations too. 93.12% of generation Z aged between 15-24, and 96.81% of generation Y aged between 24-40 use the internet, while the same applies to only 52.81% of the Baby-boomers aged between 57-75. The study will be available shortly on the NMHH website.

Rural radio tenders and decisions of the Media Council

During this week’s council meeting the body established that Médiahíd Kft. is the winner of the radio tender for the community use of district frequency Nyíregyháza 106.8 Mhz. The council approved the draft calls for tender for the community use of the local frequencies of Békéscsaba 91.8 MHz and Eger 99.1 MHz. These shall be published on the website on Friday. The council consented to Zemplén Televízió Közhasznú Nonprofit Kft. commencing its media service on the Sátoraljaújhely 104.9 Mhz local frequency – with a two-month delay – by no later than 6 May.

The operator of Debrecen TV was warned about its lawful conduct after one of its ÉPI-TECH magazine shows at the start of November encouraged viewers to buy the products of the show’s sponsor that markets building materials. This is illegal.

The full agenda of the weekly meetings of the Media Council is available on the council’s website together with the minutes of the sessions and all the resolutions – the latest documents are published after the necessary certification and administration processes.