Republic of Ireland to play France!

I couldn’t believe it when I saw on Sky Sports that the Republic of Ireland were drawn to play France in order to qualify for the 2010 world cup in South Africa. And, to make it worse, they have to play them twice!

I am personally cheering for Ireland to win and qualify for the World Cup after last time. I remember classes in school being cancelled for us to go to the assembley hall and watch them play. The hype was amazing as we had hope that Ireland could possibly beat the rest of the world in football, not just drinking! However, our dreams were shattered when Spain beat them in penalties in the quarter finals. What a day that was.

I will post on the day of the match and the result which is hopefully a win for Ireland!

Product Placement Legalised in UK

In an unexpected move, product placement is to be allowed on British television in order to generate more revenue for independent broadcasters. The move could see an additional £100m per year being generated for companies. However, the BBC are still unable to place items and this is also the case on all children’s television programs.

Personally I feel that this change in legislation is an excellent move to help struggling companies in the media industry and other markets, but I also feel that it raises questions as to whether or not the placement of products is seen as a “quick cash fix” or if it is in the interest of the general public. Although it ensures that treasured broadcasters such as ITV and Channel 4 are kept from bankruptcy and can continue to survive during a time when the media industry is in chaos, I feel it should be considered carefully and regulated strictly by OFCOM in order to protect the public’s needs and interests.

The video below shows the news at ten on BBC reporting on this decision.

Below is a link to the BBC website containing the official report on the decision.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8252901.stm

Product Placement in America as a source of income.