Find My Past set for full product TV placement

Product placement will be given its first serious test on British television next week when Find My Past, an online genealogy service, puts its website, sponsorship and name to a new UKTV series.

After being legalized in February – to muted celebration from producers and broadcasters and loud protests from consumer groups such as the Voice of the Listener and Viewer – product placement has so far proved a damp squib in the UK. Analysts have suggested product placement could generate £100m in revenues for broadcasters. Although that is expected to provide only a modest lift to larger UK broadcasters such as ITV, for smaller channels and production companies, product placement opens the door to new ways to fund original content. Advertiser-funded programming and product placement is more established in the US, where regulations are less strict. Unlike their US peers, British broadcasters are unable to be paid for promoting food and drink that is high in fat, sugar or alcohol.