Sky admit the EA branding was ”not linked” to any ”programme sponsorship arrangements” with the publisher. Ofcom took no action beyond a worded caution.
Complaints were filed to Ofcom concerning the number of times Sky Sports included the EA Sports logo during a match between Everton and Manchester United. Those complaints called the use of the branding ‘blatant’, ‘unnecessary’ and even ‘irrelevant’.
The regulator agreed it was used excessively and Sky Sports say it ”was not linked to any programme sponsorship arrangements it had entered into with EA”, say reports.
The broadcaster claimed it was obliged to use the logos as EA Sports have an agreement with the Premier League. It argued that ”no specific product or service was mentioned and that no sales messages were present as part of the EA Sports logos”.
”…on this occasion, the application of the EA on-screen credit should have been subject to greater editorial judgement given the high-scoring nature of this particular game, which meant the credit was displayed on a higher than normal number of occasions”.
Ofcom did offer something in Sky Sports defence, that viewers of sports programmes are far more accepting and comfortable with on-screen branding than other genres of TV and that broadcasters are obliged to support core technology partners.
EA Sports provided no such technical service on this occasion and so Ofcom found them in breach of rule 10.3 of the Broadcast Code, but no action is being taken.
Must have been those PES loyalists who phoned it in…
