BACKGROUND
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Under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (BSA) community broadcasters are not permitted to broadcast ‘advertising’. Sponsorship, however, is permitted and this is akin to a limited form of advertising. The BSA outlines three key requirements of a sponsorship announcement:

  1. Sponsorship content will be limited to five minutes in any hour (Broadcasting Services Act 1992 Sch 2, Part 5 clause 9 (3))
  2. Every sponsorship announcement will be clearly “tagged” (Broadcasting Services Act Sch 2, Part 1, clause 2 (2)b)
  3. There must be a bona fide financial relationship between the sponsor and the station or program.

In line with the community broadcasting code of practice (Code 6), this station will ensure that:

  • sponsorship will not be a factor in determining access to broadcasting time
  • the content and style of individual programs is not influenced by the sponsors of programs
  • overall programming of community broadcasting stations is not influenced by sponsors

PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to ensure compliance with the BSA and the Codes Of Practice. It is furthermore to give clear direction on Radio Eastern FM’s ethos with relation to sponsorship.

POLICY

  1. All sponsorship announcements will comply with the three key sponsorship conditions outlined above
  2. All sponsorship arrangements shall be recorded on a standard contract (“Sponsorship Agreement”) and approved by the Finance Group.
  3. Sponsorship will not be accepted from companies that promote tobacco or gambling.
  4. Sponsorship from companies promoting alcohol may be accepted, however the announcements must not:
      a. promote irresponsible use of alcohol, or
      b. be directed towards minors.
  5. Sponsorship will not be accepted from person or groups whose policies or practices are inconsistent with the general directions of Radio Eastern FM.
  6. Sponsorship may only be offered by a duly authorised Sponsorship Representative using the authorised Sponsorship Agreement. For the purposes of this policy, authorised means express authorisation granted by the Committee of Management following recommendations from the Finance Group.
  7. Individual presenters and members are not entitled to seek sponsorship on behalf of Radio Eastern FM unless they are a duly authorised Sponsorship Representative.
  8. Under no circumstances can presenters accept gifts, products or services of payments in return for promotion of a product, service or business.
  9. Radio Eastern FM reserves the right to refuse any paid announcement.
  10. Sponsorship announcements will be produced and presented in a style and form consistent with the program in which they are to be placed. The announcements shall not exceed 30 seconds. The Sponsorship Agreements shall use increments of 30 seconds to calculate sponsor value. If the Sponsor Representative requires modifications to length of announcements, application for approval shall be made in writing to the Finance Group prior to conclusion of any Sponsor negotiations or final offer.
  11. Backing music will normally be provided by Radio Eastern’s Production Group considering Copyright and Royalty compliance. Sponsors may suggest the music backing however final selection will be at the sole discretion of Radio Eastern.
  12. Additional fees shall be applicable for messages requiring more than one different style or content or presentation. To be clear, any single Agreement requiring more than one variation during the initial generation of message or additional message content changes during the period of the Agreement will be subject to an additional fee as per our pricing schedule.
  13. The processing cycle for an “on air” message from time of initial complete information supply by Sponsor Representative to the Finance Group shall be three (3) weeks. If a Sponsor requires a shorter period, then an additional fee will be applicable as per our pricing schedule.
  14. All Sponsor messages shall be approved by the Programme Committee chairperson or their nominated committee member.
  15. Payment of the Sponsorship amount per the Sponsorship Agreement is required prior to the Sponsor going to air. Any payment variation requirements shall only be authorised by the Finance Group in writing prior to advising Sponsor of such variation.
  16. Quarterly payments are permitted in Standard Agreements of six (6) months or more provided the details of due date(s) and payment value(s) have been included in “Any special note(s) for inclusion in Agreement” which is located in Schedule 1 of the Agreement.
  17. Rates are determined by the Finance Group and approved by the Committee of Management. Rates vary depending on Sponsor Packages associated with Agreement periods, payment requirements and class of Agreement. Rate schedules will be released from time to time by the Finance Group.
  18. Any request for variation to this policy and or the conditions imposed through the Sponsorship Agreement shall be expressly approved in writing by the Finance Group prior to signing.