Silver lining for TV advertisers

As experts on Tuesday predicted tougher times for UK advertising spending, Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, offered some hope to the beleaguered sector. While Zenith Optimedia, in its quarterly projections of advertising budgets, predicted a global slowdown as economic times worsened, Ofcom said it would consider relaxing rules governing how many advertisements can be shown in peak time. In its most recent directive on the subject, the European Commission said countries could relax restrictions on advertising "minutage" to permit a maximum of 12 minutes an hour.