2 November 2011, Wednesday                                     Official Gazette                                                                                        No. 28103

 

CHAPTER ONE

Purpose, Scope, Statuary Basis and Definitions

 Purpose

ARTICLE 1 - (1) The purpose of this by-law is to determine the procedures and principles of the media services with which media service providers have to comply.

 

Scope

ARTICLE 2 - (1) This by-law shall comprise the procedures and principles in relation to the media services provided by the media service providers which are under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Turkey.  

 

Statutory Basis

ARTICLE 3 - (1) This by-law has been prepared on the basis of the Articles 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24, 30, 31, 37, 45 and 46 of the Law No. 6112 dated 15/02/2011 on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and Their Broadcasting Services.

 

Definitions

ARTICLE 4 – (Amended: OG 374/2014-28961) 

(1) For the implementation of this by-law;

     a) ‘Subtitle’ means stationary and/or sliding texts, information and dialogues which are usually placed under the bottom section of the screen during the recording of a programme or its broadcasting;

b) ‘Band advertisement’ means inserting an advertisement by means of framing an image on the screen or placing a subtitle or displaying the logo of a product, a service or a company to be promoted during the broadcast of a programme provided that the programme integrity is not distorted.

c) ‘Info-communication devices’ refers to the system used for the transmission of sound, video, messages and similar data through the telecommunication infrastructure.

ç) ‘Commercial communication by subliminal techniques’ means a commercial communication using images and sounds only subconsciously perceivable in messages for the promotion of products or services in media services.

d) ‘Split-screen’ means partitioning the TV screen into more than one geometric form to cover similar or different themes.

e)  ‘Live broadcast’ means the live transmission of a media service content from a studio or the place of an event, which is produced by legal or real persons

f) ‘Animated cartoon’ means the film made up with a series of pictures, drawings, objects, or computer graphics.

g) ‘Editorial responsibility’ means having the authority to organise and control both over the content and the selection of the programs and over their organization either in a chronological schedule in the case of radio and television broadcasting services; or in a catalogue in the case of on-demand media services.

ğ) ‘Surreptitious commercial communication’ means the representation in words or pictures of any activity,  trade mark, name, service and product of a producer of goods or a provider of services in the programs outside of the advertorials and without any explanatory sound or image by the media service provider intended to serve as advertising or might mislead the public.

h) ‘News’ means any current, social, economic, political, cultural and etc. events, subjects and developments that are transmitted to the viewers or listeners to inform the public in an objective manner.

ı) ‘News bulletin’ means a programme type which includes the composition of current, social, economic, political, cultural and etc. events, subjects and developments that are regularly presented at certain time intervals to viewers or listeners to inform the public. 

i) ‘News programmes’ means a programme type periodically presented to viewers or listeners on the scheduled days and times in which any current event, subject and development is discussed in detail and evaluated to inform the public in the form of  announcement, presentation, speech, conversation, interview and discussion.

j) ‘Transmission’ means the initial provision of media services.

k) ‘ On-demand media services’ means any media service program which is viewed or listened to  at the moment chosen by the user and  upon his/her individual request on the basis of a programme catalogue which has been organised by a media service provider,

l) ‘Public announcements” means any public service announcement which are advised by the Supreme Council and broadcast free of charge,

m) ‘Short reporting’ means broadcast of short extracts of scenes and sounds to inform public about the significant parts of current exclusive events which have importance for the society,

n) ‘Law’ means the Law No. 6112 on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and Their Media Services dated 15/02/2011.

o) ‘Watershed hours’ means  a time interval apart from the hours between 24:00-05:00, during which children and young people are likely to watch or listen to the broadcasts.

ö) ‘Protective symbol’ means the common symbols used by the media service providers in order to inform viewers about the content of the media services, 

p) ‘Logo/call sign’ means sound announcement or graphical description of the title of the service or letters or words of this title designed in a block, which the media service providers have to register with the Supreme Council and relevant institutions,

r) ‘Media service provider’ means the legal person who has editorial responsibility for the choice of the content of the radio, television and on-demand media services and determines the manner in which it is organized and broadcast,

s) ‘Major events’ means sport and cultural events as being of major importance for the society on an exclusive basis, to be broadcast live or deferred due to the objective reasons, nationwide free and through unencrypted television channels,

ş) ‘Sponsorship’ means any contribution made by real or legal persons not engaged in providing media services or in the production of audio-visual works, for the preparation of programs for the purpose of promoting its name, trade mark, image, activities or products,

t) ‘Programme promotion’ means a programme type prepared by the media service providers for the purpose of promoting the subject and features of their own programmes and announcing or reminding the broadcasting date and time in order to  encourage their viewing and listening.

u) ‘Radio and television advertisement’ means any form of announcement broadcast or any broadcast for self-promotional purposes whether in return for payment or for similar consideration by a real and a legal person in connection with a trade, business, craft or profession in order to promote the supply of goods or services, including immovable property, rights and obligations, to advance a cause or idea, or to bring about any other effect.

ü) ‘Advertising separator’ means the optical and acoustic warning used at the beginning and at the end of the television advertising for informing viewers.

v) ‘Advertising spot’ means an advertising programme which includes one or more ads being consecutively broadcast.

y) “Health statement” means all expressions which claim or imply that being directly or indirectly beneficial to human health or effective, protective and therapeutic against disease or symptoms,

z) ‘Teleshopping’ means direct offers broadcast to the public with a view to the supply of goods or services, including immovable property, rights and obligations, in return for payment.

aa) ‘Teleshopping separator’ means the optical and acoustic warning used at the beginning and at the end of the teleshopping spots for informing viewers.

bb) ‘Thematic broadcast’ means the broadcast in which at least seventy percent of the daily broadcasting time is reserved for only a certain type of theme such as news, documentary, education, economy, culture, history, sport, music, movie, serials, marketing or similar ones; or the broadcast reserved for the programs targeting at a specific viewer segment other than the general viewers,

cc) ‘Commercial communication’ means the presentation of the images with or without sound which are designed to promote, directly or indirectly, the goods, services or image of a real or legal person pursuing an economic activity in return for payment or for similar consideration or of the images which accompany with or are included in a program for self-promotional purposes including radio and television advertising, sponsorship, teleshopping, and product placement,

çç) ‘Product placement’ means any form of commercial communication consisting of the inclusion of or a reference to a product, a service or a trade mark so that it is featured within a program, in return for a payment or for a similar consideration,

dd) ‘Supreme Council’ means the Radio and Television Supreme Council.

ee) ‘Media service’ means excluding the individual communication service, the television broadcasting services, on-demand media services, as well as commercial communication and radio broadcasting services, under the editorial responsibility of a media service provider and the principal purpose of which are  the provision of programs in order to inform, entertain or educate, to the general public by electronic communications networks,

ff) ‘Broadcasting schedule’ means the schedule prepared by the media service providers in accordance with the Law and this by-law in order to specify the broadcast date, time and duration of the programmes,

gg) ‘Broadcaster’ means a media service provider of a television and/or a radio broadcasting service,

ğğ) ‘Retransmission’ means, irrespective of the technical means employed, receiving, completely or major parts of a media service provided by a media service provider and transmitting simultaneously without any change,

hh) ‘Harmful content’ means the content in media services which might adversely influence the physical, mental or moral development of young people and children.

ıı) ‘Mandatory broadcast’ means the programmes which are obliged to be broadcast, made by the public authorities and sent to the media service providers with an approval of the Supreme Council within the framework of the laws.

CHAPTER TWO

Retransmission and Language of Media Services

Freedom of retransmission

ARTICLE 5 – (1) The reception and retransmission of media services shall be free. A media service provider’s simultaneous transmission of the same media service via different networks such as satellite, cable and terrestrial without making any changes shall not be considered as retransmission.

(2) The media service provider who has conducted the retransmission shall be responsible for the compliance of the content of the retransmitted media service with the Law.

(3) The retransmission of the media services contradicting with the international treaties to which the Republic of Turkey is party shall not be made.

 

The procedures and principles of retransmission

ARTICLE 6 – (1) Without prejudice to the provisions of the Intellectual and Artistic Works Law No. 5846, the media service providers who shall conduct retransmission must sign a contract with the media service providers whose media services are retransmitted and must disclose the contract if requested by the Supreme Council.

(2) Retransmission to be conducted within the national territories shall not require changing of the current licence type of the media service providers.

(3) Retransmission of the media service shall be conducted without endangering its integrity and harmony. Media service providers providing television broadcast service shall not make any comment on the broadcasting service to be retransmitted by using subtitle or similar techniques. Simultaneous and mot a mot translation shall not be deemed as comment.

(4) (Amended: OG 374/2014-28961)  Media service providers shall specify the origin of the transmission and the name of the programme at the beginning of the retransmitted broadcast and apart from this, in radio broadcasts they shall audibly broadcast the statement of “This is a retransmission” at the beginning. In television broadcast services, during the retransmission of the broadcast, logo of the transmitting entity shall be kept on the screen together with the logo of the broadcaster which achieves the retransmission. 

(5) (Amended: OG 374/2014-28961) If the retransmission is achieved by a media service provider, that provider might insert commercial communication provided that it will not make any change in the content and schedule of the initial broadcast.

   (6) (Amended: OG 374/2014-2896) Any media service provider who ensures the retransmission shall have the editorial responsibility of the retransmitted broadcast.

 (7) (Amended: OG 374/2014-28961) If the retransmission of a broadcast provided by a media service provider under the jurisdiction of another country violates the provisions of the European Convention on Transfrontier Television and the Law No.6112, the Supreme Council shall notify the relevant authorities of country of origin.

(a) The Supreme Council shall suspend the retransmission of the media service from abroad up to six months if the determined infringement is in an obvious, serious and grave manner and against the Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, Article 12 first sentence of paragraph 1, Article 14, first statement of paragraph 1, Article 14, paragraphs 1 or 3, or Article 15 paragraphs 1 or 3 of the Convention, or Article 8, paragraph 1, subparagraphs (a), (b) or (n), paragraphs 2 or 3, Articles 9, 10 or 11 and the infringement continues for two weeks following the notification.

b) With the exception of paragraph (a), if the Article 7 paragraph or Articles 8, 9 or 10 of the Convention and other provisions of the Law. No.6112 are violated and this violation is continued for eight months, the Supreme Council shall suspend the related media service for six months.

c) If a settlement is not reach despite of the above mentioned transactions, relevant provisions of the Convention shall be applied.

 

The Procedures and Principles of Broadcasts in Languages and Dialects Other Than Turkish

ARTICLE 7 -– (1) Media services shall be essentially provided in Turkish. However, media services in languages and dialects other than Turkish may also be provided. The broadcasts must be provided in conformity with the rules of the language selected.

 (2) Making broadcasts in languages and dialects other than Turkish by the media service providers shall be subject to the permission to be issued by the Supreme Council in accordance with the provisions of this by-law. Broadcasting in those languages and dialects shall not be allowed without the permission of the Supreme Council.

(3) Media service providers willing to broadcast in languages and dialects other than Turkish shall apply to the Supreme Council together with the decision of their board of directors that determines the language and dialect and programme types, in which they are willing to broadcast in those languages and dialects, and the daily broadcasting schedule of those programmes and monthly broadcasting plans.

(4) Applications of the media service providers with broadcast licences for broadcasting in languages and dialects other than Turkish shall be evaluated by the Supreme Council taking into consideration their broadcasting area, technical facilities and the other providers’ broadcasts in the requested languages and dialects and if found appropriate, broadcasting in those languages and dialects shall be allowed.

(5) For the individual musical works, cinema films, and commercial communication and on demand media services in languages and dialects other than Turkish, no permission shall be required.

(6) Media service providers who have obtained the permission for broadcasting in languages and dialects other than Turkish from the Supreme Council shall be liable to make their broadcasts in accordance with the Law and the by-laws to be issued on the basis of the Law and the other liabilities stipulated by the Supreme Council.

 

CHAPTER THREE

Principles for Media Services

Principles for media services

ARTICLE 8 – (1) Media service providers shall provide their media services in accordance with the principles for media services with an understanding of the responsibility towards public. Media services;

a) shall not be contrary to the existence and independence of the State of the Republic of Turkey, the indivisible integrity of the State with its territory and nation, the reforms and principles of Atatürk.

b) shall not incite the society to hatred and hostility by making discrimination on  the grounds of race, language, religion, sex, class, region and sect or shall not constitute any feelings of hatred in the society.

c) shall not be contrary to the rule of law, the principle of  justice and impartiality.

ç) shall not be contrary to human dignity and the principle of respect to privacy, shall not include disgracing, degrading or defamatory expressions against persons or organizations beyond the limits of criticism. The sceneries of individuals’ moments of suffering, dying, being wounded and similar cases shall not be displayed in a way that leads to emotional exploitation. Information, documents and records related to the private life shall not be broadcast without the permission of individuals and inviolability of residence shall not be infringed. The records of security cameras or the ones acquired with similar methods shall only be broadcast with the permission of the related individuals unless they contain any offences to human dignity and personal rights. The news of bribery, sexual harassment and similar criminal acts shall not be reported by using interpretative editing.

d) shall not glorify and encourage  terror; shall not display terrorist organizations as powerful or justified and shall not portray terrifying and deterrent features of  terrorist organizations. They shall not present the act, the perpetrators and the victims of terror in a way serving for the interests of the terror. Broadcasts which may negatively affect the personal rights of terrorism victims and their relatives shall not be allowed.

e) shall not include or promote broadcasts which make discrimination on the basis of race, colour, language, religion, nationality, sex, disablement, political and philosophical opinion, sect and any such considerations and degrade individuals.

f) shall not be contrary to the national and moral values of the society, general morality and the principle of protection of family.

g) shall not glorify committing a crime, criminals and criminal organizations, shall not be instructive on criminal techniques.

ğ) (Amended: OG 3/4/2014-28961) shall not abuse children, weak and disabled people and encourage violence against them. Any kind of discrimination, physical, emotional, verbal and sexual violence against them shall not be encouraged. The content of the scenes of the programmes in which children have roles or participate shall not comprise elements that could impair the physical, mental or emotional development of them. Any award intended for children should be convenient to their ages.

h) (Amended: OG 3/4/2014-28961) shall not encourage the use of addictive substances such as alcohol, tobacco products and narcotics or the gambling. The broadcast of games of chance and luck organized by the relevant authorities or with their permission, shall not encourage playing of these games in a way that would cause financial, social and emotional damages.

ı) (Amended: OG 3/4/2014-28961) News bulletins and news programmes shall be predicated on the principles of impartiality, truthfulness and accuracy and shall not impede the free formation of opinions within the society; the news that can be investigated within the framework of journalistic code of ethics shall not be broadcast without having been investigated and assured of its accuracy; in news reporting, exaggerated audio and images, any effects and music other than the natural sounds shall be avoided; the qualification of the images as an archive or a re-enactment or the source of the news obtained from the news agencies and other media sources shall be specified. Live broadcasts shall be clearly specified as “live”. And as for the repetition of the live programmes, any announcements inviting the participation of the audiences to the programme through telephone calls or by sending short messages or etc., shall not be made in order not to mislead the audiences.

i) shall not declare or present anyone as guilty unless conclusively proven by a judicial  decision; shall not be in a way to affect the trial process and its impartiality beyond its newsworthiness during the judgement process in cases that have been passed to the judiciary.

j) shall not contain any elements that serve for unfair interests and lead to unfair competition.

k) shall not be biased towards or favouring political parties and democratic groups; speakers shall have to be impartial during the programmes.

l) shall not encourage any acts which might jeopardize the general health and protection of environment and animals.

m) shall ensure that the Turkish language is used in a proper, favourable and intelligible way without undermining its characteristics and rules; shall not display coarse, slang and poor quality use of the language.

n)  shall not be obscene. They shall not be in a way that is oriented to exploit sexual emotions, demonstrating individuals as sexual commodity, degrading the human body as an element of sexual incitement, containing obscene words and behaviours which cannot be exhibited in public areas, hurting the senses of honour and shame of the individuals in a society and inciting and exploiting their sexual desires.

o) shall respect the right of rectification and reply of the individuals or institutions; The statements decided by the courts on the right of rectification and reply shall be broadcast audiovisually for the viewers or acoustically for the radio listeners so that they can easily follow.

ö) shall not contain any competition and lottery through the info-communications means, no prizes shall be awarded to listeners or viewers or shall not act as an intermediary for awarding prizes.

p) Surveys and public opinion polls which are conducted or commissioned by the media service provider shall be exercised in the presence of the notary from their preparatory stage until the announcement of the results and this procedure shall be announced to the public and any relevant documents shall have to be submitted to the Supreme Council, if demanded.

r) shall not exploit individuals  by way of fortune-telling and superstitions;  Viewers or listeners shall not be misled and exploited by the use of methods such as fortune-telling and superstitions in programmes.

s) shall not contain any programmes against gender equality, encouraging and normalising the oppression over and exploitation of  women. Media services shall not provoke traditional practices to be exerted as a tool to suppress women in a society.  

ş) shall not encourage or inure violence. Media services shall not cause the acquisition of aggressive behaviours and attitudes, the desensitization against and the normalisation of violence. The sounds and sceneries that contain elements of violence shall not be broadcast in news bulletins or news programmes beyond its newsworthiness by extending their duration superfluously, presenting them tautologically or spoiling their originality and quality. The comments and expressions which justify violence shall not be broadcast.

 

(2) In radio and television broadcast services, any programmes which could impair the physical, mental or moral development of children and young people shall not be broadcast during the watershed hours even though smart signs are used. The programme contents including the elements of violence, sexuality and as such which might harm the physical, mental or moral development of children and young people shall not be broadcast in programme promotions during watershed hours.

(3) On-demand media service providers shall ensure the provision of media services, which could adversely impact the physical, mental or moral development of young people and children in such a way that, under normal circumstances, they will not hear and see such services. Such programmes shall not be broadcast without encryption or any other similar protection system and without precautions to be taken to make sure that the subscriber is an adult, and in a way accessible by children.

 

CHAPTER FOUR

 

Commercial Communications in Media Services

  

General Principles

ARTICLE 9 – (1) Commercial communications shall be easily distinguishable from other elements of the media service by optical and acoustic means.

(2) Subliminal techniques shall not be used in commercial communications. 

(3) Surreptitious commercial communications shall not be allowed.

(4) The images or voices of persons who regularly present news bulletins and news programmes shall not be used in commercial communications.

(5) Commercial communications shall not be used in a way to influence the editorial independence of media service providers and programme contents.

 

(6) Without prejudice to the media service principles, commercial communications;

 

a) shall be in conformity with the principles of fairness, equity and honesty.

b) shall not include or encourage any discrimination based on sex, race, colour or ethnic origin, nationality, religion, philosophical belief  or political opinion, (Amended: OG 374/2014-2896) disability, age and any other issues,

c) shall not be misleading and shall not harm the consumer's economic interests, health and safety. Commercial communications shall not contain insufficient information, exaggerated expression and images leading to the deception on the specifications of a product, service or image.

ç) (Amended OG 3/4/2014-28961) shall not cause food supplements, herbal products, various devices and similar items to be perceived as medicines by means of any health claim.

d) shall not abuse children in any way. Shall not harm children's physical, mental or moral development, shall not directly mislead children to buy or lease a product or service by exploiting their innocence or inexperience; shall not directly encourage children to persuade their parents or others to buy advertised products or services; shall not exploit the trust of children to their parents, teachers or other persons or shall not unreasonably show children in dangerous situations. Taking into consideration the level of experience children have, commercial communication shall not cause unrealistic expectations according to their age groups.

   e) shall not be oriented towards the exploitation of women. Female body shall not be used as a sexual commodity in the promotion of a product, service or image.

   f) shall not encourage any behaviour prejudicial to health, environment or safety

   g) Characters appearing in commercial communications shall not use their titles or professions in such a way to exploit the trust of consumers or their lack of experience and knowledge.

             (7) (Amended: OG 374/2014-2896) Commercial communications of foods and beverages, containing nutrients and substances such as fats, trans-fatty acids, salt/sodium and sugars, excessive consumption of which are not recommended in general nutrition diets;

                a) shall not accompany the children's programmes at the beginning / end or shall not be included in the children's programmes.

               b) when accompany or inserted within the programmes other than the children’s programmes, they shall be broadcast with a streaming text at the bottom of the screen which is easily readable by the audience with warnings promoting a regular and balanced diet.

             c) The list to be prepared by the Ministry of Health shall be taken as the basis in determining the foods and beverages, excessive consumption of which are not recommended in general nutrition diets.

 (8) (Amended: OG 3/4/2014-28961) Sound level of the broadcasts of commercial communications shall be the same with the sound level of the other parts of the broadcast. Viewers or listeners shall not be disturbed by increasing or decreasing the sound level before the beginning of the commercial communications or the programme promotions.

 

(9) (Amended: OG 3/4/2014-28961) Political advertisements shall comply with the general principles of commercial communication stipulated under this Article and with the procedures and principles specified by the High Election Board.

 

Principles of the Teleshopping Broadcast Services

Article 9/A – (Annexed: OG-3/4/2014-28961)

(1)     Without prejudice to the general procedures stated in Article 9 of this By-Law;

a)       For the purpose of enabling consumers to make proper choices, definite information regarding the products or services shall be declared and the viewers shall not be misled;

b)       Information about the contact addresses of the manufacturing firm and the place of production belonging to the products shall be stated;

c)       Viewers shall not be provoked to purchase products through the use of unreal slogans such as “First time”, “Only one left”, “Only Once”, “Limited Sale”, “All about to be sold”, “All sold” and etc.

d)       Scientific and statistical information shall not be distorted. Clinic tests or test results regarding the performance of a product shall only be restrictively announced if such results have been confirmed by an official institution or published in an academic or scientific periodicals. 

e)       Any statement about the health report of a product shall not be made in a way causing it to be perceived like a medicine. All kinds of writings relating to the expression of gratitude and appreciation about the supplementary food products or any audio-visual presentation and statements regarding the users’ personal experiences on such products shall not be used. No statement shall be made that if that product is not used, health might be negatively affected.

 

Form and presentation of the advertisement and teleshopping broadcasts

ARTICLE 10 – (1) In television broadcasting services, advertisements and teleshopping shall be arranged in a way that they will be clearly recognisable by optical and/or acoustic means and evidently distinguishable from the other elements of the programme service. To distinguish the advertisements and teleshopping:

   a) (Amended: OG 3/4/2014-28961)  An advertising or teleshopping separator which does not contain any advertising elements shall be used at the beginning and at the end of television advertising and teleshopping spots at least for 3 seconds. Media service providers are free in designing their advertising or teleshopping separators. However, a logo, as enclosed in Annex 2, shall be displayed at least 6 seconds together with the advertising or teleshopping separators at the beginning and the end of the advertising or teleshopping spots. The public announcement logo, enclosed in Annex 2, shall be continuously displayed during the broadcast of the public announcements.  The public announcements which are not included in the calculation of the transmission time of advertisement spots and to be broadcast free of charge which has been decided by the Supreme Council, shall be broadcast with an logo, enclosed in Annex 2, during their entire broadcasting.  The expression of “COMPULSORY BROADCAST” shall be displayed for at least 6 seconds at the beginning and at the end of the compulsory broadcast. During the broadcasting of tele-shopping spots, statement of “TELESHOPPING” shall be displayed on the screen.

   b) The band advertisement logo enclosed in Annex 2 shall be displayed during the broadcast of the band advertisements. Band advertisements shall not occupy more than 20% of the total screen area during their broadcasts. In order to prevent from the distortion of integrity, value, effectiveness and message of the programme, spots and mini-spots by using band advertisement techniques shall not be broadcast acoustically. Band advertisements shall not be displayed in a way shading the sportspersons and the sports events during the broadcast of such events and the images of actors/actresses, participants and speakers in other programmes.

 (2) In radio broadcasting services, advertisements and teleshopping shall be arranged in a way that they will be clearly recognisable by acoustic means and evidently distinguishable from the other elements of the programme service. In order to distinguish advertisement and tele-shopping; the phrases "ADVERTISEMENT" and "TELESHOPPING" which specify the type of commercial communications together with the advertisement jingle shall be used for a duration of at least 3 seconds at the beginning and at the end of the advertisement in a way that is understandable by the listener.

(3) Advertisement and teleshopping broadcasts shall not be inserted in religious service broadcasts.

(4) Band advertisements shall not be inserted in news bulletins and programmes for children.

(5) In advertisements containing premium-rate telephony services and being broadcast in accordance with the principles of media services, the size of the characters used in written explanations shall be at least 8 fonts. In case these explanations are displayed as streaming texts, they shall be at a speed readable by the viewers; in case these explanations are displayed on the screen in a stabilized form, they shall remain on the screen at least for 10 seconds.

(6) (Amended OG-3/4/2014-28961) single advertisement shall not be allowed except the natural breaks of sports events. This provision shall be applied during the broadcast of the single advertisements

 

Proportion and duration of advertisements and teleshopping in television and radio broadcasting services

ARTICLE 11 – (1) Advertisement and teleshopping broadcasts may be inserted between programmes or during a program in such a way that the integrity and value of the programme and the rights of the rights holders are not prejudiced.

(2) In programmes consisting of autonomous parts or in sports programmes or similarly structured events and performances comprising intervals, advertisements and teleshopping shall only be inserted between the parts, accidental breaks or in the intervals.

(3) The proportion of all advertising spots, other than teleshopping spots, shall not exceed twenty percent (twelve minutes) of the broadcast within a given clock hour starting at minute “0” and ending at minute “59”. This proportion shall not comprise the product placement and the duration devoted to sponsorship, promotion of the broadcaster’s own programmes. (Annuled sentence: OG-3/4/2014-28961)

(4) (Amended OG-3/4/2014-28961) The amount of programme promotions within a given clock hour starting at minute “0” and ending at minute “59” shall not exceed 5 percent (three minutes). Program promotions using band announcements shall be included in this calculation.

(5) Band advertisements shall be displayed maximum 10 seconds for each insertion.

(6) Irrespective of the proportion stipulated in the third paragraph, teleshopping windows shall be broadcast uninterruptedly at a minimum duration of 15 minutes provided they are clearly identified by optical and acoustic means. The duration of this broadcast shall not exceed one hour in total per day. 

 (7) The duration of advertisement separator/jingles which are used at the beginning and end of the commercial communications shall not be taken into consideration in calculating the durations of advertising spots and teleshopping.

(8) Public service announcements which are broadcast free of charge and recommended by the Supreme Council shall not be included in the advertising duration.

(9) The cinematographic films, films made for television, news bulletins and children’s programmes, provided that their scheduled broadcasting duration is more than thirty minutes, shall not be interrupted by an advertisement and teleshopping before the completion of the first thirty minutes’ period. After the first thirty minutes, advertisement spots and teleshopping may be inserted once at most for the each thirty minutes’ period in any time.           

 

 

Commercial communication of particular products

ARTICLE 12 – (1) The rules to be complied with in the (Amended phrase OG-3/4/2014-28961) commercial communications of below mentioned products are as follows:

   a) Commercial communication for alcohol and tobacco products shall not be allowed under any circumstances

   b) Commercial communication for medicinal products and medical treatments available only on prescription shall not be allowed.                   

   c) (Amended: OG-3/4/2014-28961) Advertisements for the medicinal products and medical treatments which are not subject to prescription shall be prepared within the principle of honesty and in such a manner that they will comprise elements reflecting the truth and being subject to verification. In this respect, the list which is annually prepared and published by the Ministry of Health in accordance with the provisions of the By-law promulgated with Official Gazette No.25730 dated 17/02/2005 on the Classification of the Medical Products Intended for Human Use is taken into consideration as the basis. During the advertisements for the medical products and medical treatments which are not subject to prescription; the statement about the authorisation of their sale without prescription and the substances shall be displayed on a visible and readable text on the screen, and shall be orally stated in radio broadcasting.

   ç) Teleshopping for medicinal products and medical treatments shall not be allowed.

   d) Commercial communications for any kind of weapons (firearm or not) or of the entities engaged in producing or selling weapons shall not be allowed.                

   e) Commercial communications for the services provided by fortune-tellers, mediums, astrologists etc. shall not be allowed.                      

   f) Commercial communications for dating and matrimonial services shall not be allowed.                      

   g) Commercial communications for the products and services whose advertisements are prohibited by other legislations shall not be allowed.

ğ) (Amended: OG-3/4/2014 -28961) shall not cause food supplements, herbal products, various devices and similar items to be perceived as medicines by means of any health claim.

 

Sponsorship

ARTICLE 13 – (1) (Amended: OG-3/4/2014 - ) If a program is sponsored wholly or partially, the commercial identity of the sponsor shall clearly be displayed by optical and/or acoustic means each time for 5 seconds both at the beginning and end of the programme and both before and after the advertisement breaks within the programme. Displaying of the names, trademarks, logo and/or images of partially sponsors, shall not be exceeded 30 seconds. Partially sponsorship shall be at most 3 seconds for each names, trademarks and/or logos which are displayed fixedly, shall be at most 3 seconds period for each names, trademarks and/or logos which are displayed streaming. This provision shall be applied only for speaker’s costume for news bulletins at most 3 seconds. Apart from the name, the trademark, the logo, the product sceneries and the image of the sponsor; any other images or expressions shall not be allowed.

(2) The programme sponsors shall not be referenced during the promotion of the programmes.

(3) (Amended: OG-3/4/2014) In sponsored programmes, any reference to goods and services of a sponsor or of a third party shall not be allowed, and their purchase, sale and rental shall not be promoted. The name of the sponsoring company shall not be used as part of the programme name. Product placement of goods and services which belong to sponsor shall not be allowed. The band advertisement application of sponsor in the sponsored programmes shall not be considered as a reference to sponsor.

(4) The real or legal persons producing and providing the goods and services, commercial communications of which are banned, and the persons dealing with their sales shall not be allowed to be sponsors.

(5) In case of the sponsorship of programmes by undertakings whose activities include the manufacture, marketing or sale of medicinal products and the marketing and presenting medical treatments, the name, trade mark, logo or the image of the real and legal persons may be used in sponsorship but the medicinal products or medical treatments produced and sold by the real and legal persons available only on prescription shall not be promoted.

(6) Sponsorship of news bulletins, and religious service broadcasts shall not be allowed.

(7) Sponsorship shall not be allowed to influence the editorial independence and responsibility of the media service provider.

(8) Sponsorship shall be clearly identified at the beginning and end of the programme and before and after the advertising breaks within the programme, shall not directly promote the rental or sale of goods and services of sponsors and shall not give undue prominence to the goods and services.

 

Product Placement

ARTICLE 14 – (1) (Amended: OG-3/4/2014 -28961) Product placement applications may be allowed in broadcasts of the cinematographic works, films made for television, series, sports programmes and light entertainment programmes. Also product placement applications may be allowed in radio broadcast services. Product placement applications shall be subject to the regulations pertaining to commercial communication.

(2) In informing about the product placement, at the beginning and the end of the programme in which the product placement shall be applied and when the programme resumes after each advertising break, the statement of “There is a product placement in this programme” at “Arial” font type, “Normal” font style and 15 pixels font size shall be displayed. In the event that the abovementioned informing statement is displayed on the screen as a streaming text, it shall be assured to be at a speed readable by the viewers; in the event that it is displayed on the screen as a stabilized text, it shall remain on the screen at least for 10 seconds. (Amended:  OG-3/4/2014) In radio broadcasting services, this expression shall be stated in the same manner by acoustic means.

(3) (Amended: OG-3/4/2014) In general, programme placement should not prejudice the programme integrity. In the product placement applications, overemphasizing the product which are placed in the programmes shall not be allowed. In the product placement; offering or showing over and over of products and services which are subjects of product placement, promoting the features of the product or the service; expressing preferences in favour of a specific product in comparison with the similar products or services; directly encouraging the purchase or rental of the products or services by making specific promotional references to those products or services and giving undue prominence; providing detailed information related to the product and overemphasizing the product by different cinematic techniques shall be prohibited.

(4) The product embedded within the programme by product placement should be used in such a natural manner as if it is part of the programme.

(5) (Annuled: Official Gazette 3/4/2014)

(6) The products whose commercial communications are prohibited shall not be allowed to be used in product placement. During the product placement, band advertisement related to the embedded product shall not be allowed.

(7) Product placement shall not be allowed to influence the editorial independence and responsibility of media service providers.

(8) Product placement shall not be allowed in news bulletins, children's programmes and religious service broadcasts,

 

 Advertising and teleshopping channels

ARTICLE 15 – (1) Provisions of the Article 10 and 11 shall not be applicable to television and radio broadcasting services exclusively devoted to advertisement, teleshopping and self-promotion broadcasts.

 

 

CHAPTER FIVE

 

Content of the Media Services

 

 

Generalist and thematic broadcast

ARTICLE 16 – (1) In media services, broadcasts with generalist or thematic content can be made. Whilst applying for a broadcast licence, media service providers shall submit a written notification to the Supreme Council about their type of broadcast. The type of the broadcast shall be clearly stated in the broadcast licence document to be granted to these enterprises by the Supreme Council.

(2) It is obligatory that broadcasting services shall be provided in accordance with the type and chosen language of which the Supreme Council has been informed. The type of the broadcast might be changed with the permission of the Supreme Council upon request. Any enterprise that has not made broadcast in compliance with the type specified in licence document shall be deemed to have violated the terms of the broadcast licence.

(3) Enterprises having terrestrial broadcast licence shall not make an application in order for providing thematic broadcasts in types of advertisement and teleshopping as well as programme promotion.

 

The rates of the programmes in thematic broadcasts

ARTICLE 17 – (1) (Amended: OG 3/4/2014-28961) The enterprises granted thematic broadcast permission shall ensure to reserve at least seventy percent of their daily transmission time between 06.00-24.00, excluding the time allotted to commercial communication broadcasts, for the type of the programmes specified in their licence.

Broadcasts for children

ARTICLE 18 – (1) If generalist or thematic television enterprises broadcast animated cartoons in their programmes for children, they shall ensure to reserve at least twenty percent of the cartoons and at least forty percent of other children's programmes to the productions that have been produced in Turkish language and that reflect the Turkish culture. Monthly broadcasting periods shall be taken as basis in the determination of these proportions.

(2) Generalist or thematic television enterprises shall notify the Supreme Council on the broadcasting hours and duration of children’s programmes in charts and the language of the production via email to the web address of izlemeburo@rtuk.org.tr until the twentieth of each month.

(3) Television enterprises shall progressively ensure the achievement of the proportions stipulated in this Article by increasing these proportions equally every year, within a five years period starting from the publication date of this By-law.

 

Turkish folk music and Turkish art music

ARTICLE 19 – (1) Radio and television enterprises shall ensure the broadcast of Turkish folk and Turkish art music programmes as part of Turkish culture. The total broadcasting duration of these programmes shall not be less than one hour within the weekly broadcasting duration.

 

(2) Broadcasters granted thematic broadcasting permission by the Supreme Council shall be exempted from this obligation.

 

Right of short extracts

ARTICLE 20 – (1) (Amended: OG-/3/4/2014-28961) Television broadcasters who have exclusive broadcasting rights on the all kinds of current events of major importance for the public shall provide short extracts to other broadcasters in return for remuneration on a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory basis within the framework of the Law No. 5846 dated 5/12/1951 on Intellectual and Artistic Works. 

(2) If short extracts of current events of major importance for the public are composed of several independent elements, each one shall be evaluated separately and right of short extracts for each one may be used.

(3) Right of short extracts of current events of major importance for the public shall not exceed 90 seconds.        

(4) The television broadcasters who have exclusive broadcasting rights shall not lay down any conditions on the right to access to the events subject to exclusive broadcasting rights. Other television broadcasters who request right to access shall have the right to freely choose from the short extracts they request.

(5) In the broadcast of short extracts, television broadcasters that have exclusive broadcasting rights shall be indicated and any applications hindering the appearance of the logo of the transmitting broadcaster shall not be allowed.

(6) Short extracts shall, maximum within twenty-four hours after the initial broadcast provided that their sources are stated, be solely used for general news programmes and may be used in on-demand media services only if the same programme is offered on a deferred basis by the same media service provider.

(7) In case of short extract of current events of major importance for the public is not broadcast within twenty-four hours following the occurrence of the event by the initial broadcaster who has exclusive right, it may be broadcast before the initial broadcaster.

(8) Broadcasters who have exclusive rights of current events of major importance for the public shall not request any additional payment from other broadcasters for short extracts other than its value.      

Access of the public to events of major importance

ARTICLE 21- (1) The Supreme Council shall draw up a list of major events to ensure the broadcast of the national and international events as being of major importance for society live or deferred on nationwide free and unencrypted television channels.

(2) The Supreme Council shall collect the opinions of relevant bodies and institutions on the preparation of major events list. The list of major events shall be drawn up and announced within six months as of the publication date of this By-law.

(3) The list of major events could be updated following the same procedure according to the changing conditions by the Supreme Council.

(4) The events listed by the Supreme Council as being of major importance for the society shall be broadcast live in principle. If these events occur between 24.00-05.00, if they are composed of a number of consecutive events such as Olympic Games or if the broadcast of another event necessitates the broadcasting of the event being of major importance for the society at another time period, depending on objective reasons in such cases, they may be broadcast deferred in the same day that the events happen.

(5) Television broadcasters that will broadcast major events shall ensure the nationwide broadcasting of the listed major events as free and unencrypted. Meanwhile, television broadcasters shall not enjoy their exclusive rights of major events which are included in the list of another state party to the European Transfrontier Television Convention on in a way that a substantial proportion of the citizens in the named state are deprived of watching them.

 

CHAPTER SIX

Viewer Representatives and Protective Symbol System

 

Viewer’s representative and his/her duties

ARTICLE 22- (Amended: OG-3/4/2014-28961) (1) Media service providers shall have a viewer representative. Viewer representatives appointed by media service providers who have national terrestrial broadcasting licence shall be appointed for at least 1 year term from among the persons who have at least ten years of professional experience in the field of broadcasting and have credibility on the viewers. The term of office clause with regard to professional experience shall not be applied to viewer representatives appointed by other media service providers. Media service providers shall announce to the public the viewer representative's identity and the information regarding where and how to complain about the programme by appropriate means at the end of the programme.

  (2) Viewer’s representative;

   a)  shall ensure the establishment of the necessary infrastructure to receive viewers’ feedbacks.

   b) shall have a viewer representative’s link on the official website of media service provider and they shall provide information about the feedbacks that they received from the website and their evaluations. (Amended sentence: OG-3/4/2014-28961) The name, surname and contact information of the viewer representative shall be announced apparently in the official internet site. 

   c) shall separately evaluate the feedbacks collected from the viewers and sent by the Supreme Council. They shall respond for the feedbacks on the principles for media service and commercial communications in media services.

   ç) shall report their studies on viewer feedbacks to the executive board of media service provider at the end of each month, shall announce on their official website and shall broadcast these studies to share with the public if the broadcasting schedule allows.

   d) shall primarily evaluate and conclude the complaints and opinions submitted by the Supreme Council in the framework of self-regulation.

 

 

Protective Symbol System

ARTICLE 23 - (1) Media service providers shall inform the viewers about the content of programme services through sound or written announcement by using protective symbol system

                (2) The symbols shall be classified according to the categories of age and content. The process of classification shall be conducted according to the procedures and principles in the Coders’ Application Guide prepared, and updated when required, by the Supreme Council. Coders’ Application Guide shall be published on the Supreme Council’s website.

                (3) Protective symbols indicate whether or not a programme includes a potentially harmful content and/or which age category it is convenient for.

   (4) If a programme content includes violence and fear, sexuality and attitudes which may constitute negative modelling such as discrimination, excessive use of alcohol and cigarette, usage of illegal substance, illegal behaviours and coarse and bad speech, symbols of “Violence/Fear”, “Sexuality”, “Bad Behaviours” attached in Annex 1 shall be inserted in order to identify the programme which may likely include a harmful content 

 (5) (Amended:OG-3/4/2014-28961) Convenience of the programme content in terms of the age groups shall be defined with the symbols of “General Viewer”, “Age 7+”, “Age 13+” and “Age 18+” attached in Annex 1 which has been established by taking into consideration age groups’ vulnerability levels. (Amended: OG-3/4/2014-28961) The symbols of “13+” and “Age 18+” shall be displayed constantly and continuously during the programme at one of the corners of the screen. The symbol of “7+” means a programme can be broadcast in any  hours of the day, the symbol “13+” means a programme can be broadcast after 21:30, the symbol “18+” means the programme cannot be broadcast out of the time interval between 24:00-05:00 hours. 

(6) Whether a programme includes a harmful content and which age group it is convenient for shall be determined automatically by the system itself as a result of the responses supplied by the certificated coders designated by the media service providers and trained in advance on the system by the Supreme Council by means of filling the Sample Coding Form on the official website of the Supreme Council.

(7) This article shall also be valid for the Turkish Radio-Television Organisation.

Access of the disabled to the media services

ADDITIONAL ARTICLE 1 (Amended OG: 3/4/2014-28961) (1) In order to ensure the accession of the disabled people to the media services in equal conditions with others;

a) It is obligatory to provide subtitling for the people with hearing impairments, to be reached in 30% within three years and 50 % within five years, at the films made for the movies and televisions, series and news programmes which are broadcast on channels of the Turkish Radio-Television Corporation.

b) It is obligatory for the private media service providers with national terrestrial licences to provide subtitling service on the films made for the movies and televisions, series and news programmes, to be reached in 20% within three years and 40% within five years.

c) Turkish Radio-Television Corporation and private media service providers with national terrestrial licences shall send the statistical data which belongs to a previous year related with the above mentioned quotas to izlemeburo@rtuk.org.tr by e-mail within three months beginning of each year.

 

European works

ADDITIONAL ARTICLE 2 (Amended OG: 3/4/2014-28961) (1) Television broadcasters with a  national terrestrial broadcasting licence shall reserve at least fifty percent of their transmission time for European works,  excluding the time reserved for news, sports events, games, advertising, teleshopping and related data broadcasts,

(2) European works means;

                (a) works produced in the member states of the European Union,

   (b) works produced in European third States party to the European Convention on Transfrontier Television and fulfilling the conditions of the paragraph 3,

(c) works co-produced within the framework of the  agreements related to the audio-visual sector concluded between the European Union and the third countries and fulfilling the conditions defined in each of these agreements.

(3) The application of the subparagraphs (b) (c) of the paragraph 2 shall be conditional on works produced in the member states of the European Union not being subject of discriminatory measures in the third country concerned.

(4) The works referred in subparagraphs (a) and (b) are works made with authors, script writers and workers resident in one or more of the states mentioned in these provisions, provided that they comply with one of the following conditions:

a) they are made by one or more producers established in one or more of the those States.

b) Production of the works are supervised and controlled by one or more producers established in one or more of those States

c) the contribution of co-producers of those States to the total co-production costs preponderant and the co-production is not controlled by one or more producers established outside those states.

 

(5) Works which are not considered as European works within the meaning of paragraph 2 but that are produced under the framework of the bilateral co-production agreements between the European Union Member States and third countries shall be deemed to be European works provided that the co-producers from the Union supply a majority share of the total cost of production and that the production is not controlled by one or more producers established outside the territory of the Member States.

(6) Television broadcasters with a national terrestrial broadcast licence shall reserve at least ten percent of their annual transmission time to the European works produced by the independent producers.

 (7) At least fifty percent of the European works produced by the independent producers which shall be broadcast by the television broadcasters with a national terrestrial broadcast licence shall be produced within the last five years.

(8) The time reserved for the annual transmission time shall not include the time reserved for news, sport events, games, advertisements, tele-shopping and related data broadcast.

 (9) On-demand media service providers shall take the necessary and appropriate measures in order to promote the production and access to the European works.

(10) On-demand media service providers shall preferentially and prominently feature the European works in their programme catalogues.

(11) Television broadcasters with a national terrestrial broadcast licence shall inform statistical data on the European works to the Supreme Council until the last working day of September in each year.

(12) The provisions referred in this article shall be applicable after the accession of the Republic of Turkey to the European Union.

 

CHAPTER SEVEN

 

Miscellaneous

               

The annulled by-laws

ARTICLE 24 – (1) The By-Law on the Radio and Television Broadcasts in Different Language and Dialects That Are Used in Daily Lives of The Turkish Citizens” published in the Official Gazette No 27405 dated 13/11/2009 and The By-Law on Procedures and Principles for Radio and Television Broadcasts published in the Official Gazette No 25082 dated 17/04/2003 have been annulled as of the enforcement date of this by-law.

 

Entry into force

ARTICLE 25- (1) This by-law shall enter into force on the date of its publication.

 

Implementation

ARTICLE 26- (1) The provisions of this by-law shall be implemented by the Radio and Television Supreme Council.