Sanremo, Agcom sanctions Rai for John Travolta's shoes (and sticks on televoting)
206,000 euro fine for hidden advertising. The Authority, reports a note, 'took into account the repetition of the conduct by Ra'. Report on televoting malfunction: 2.2 million potentially valid votes missing from the roll-call
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Key points
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A 206,000 euro fine for surreptitious advertising. At Rai, as anticipated in the Sole 24 Ore on newsstands today, Wednesday 24 July 2024, comes the Agcom sanction for 'violation of the provisions relating to the correct reporting of advertising messages during the "74th edition of the Sanremo Italian Song Festival"'.
The case is that of John Travolta's shoes. 'The infringement ascertained,' writes Agcom, 'concerns the hidden advertising of a well-known brand of shoes during John Travolta's performance together with Amadeus, the presenter of the Festival'.
Episode "of extreme gravity"
.The Authority, says the Agcom note, 'considered the episode to be extremely serious, as the exposure of the product took place during the main RAI television programme in terms of audience and during the performance of a guest of international renown, with considerable detrimental effects on viewers'. According to Auditel data, there were an average of 11.8 million viewers in front of the TV during that performance, representing a 60% share.
It is not only the large audience that justifies Agcom's heavy hand. The penalty of twenty times the minimum amount was imposed because in its quantification the Authority states that it 'took into account the repetition of the conduct by RAI, which has already been penalised for episodes of hidden advertising during the past edition of the Sanremo Festival'.
The televote report
.In today's council meeting, Agcom also intervened on the bailamme concerning the problems with the televoting on the final evening of the Sanremo Festival, in which the reversal of the votes of the press room and radio jury allowed Angelina Mango to win Sanremo 2024 to the detriment of Geolier. According to what has been reconstructed by the Sole 24 Ore, the Agcom commissioners were shown a report according to which 2.23 million valid votes were missing that were not registered by the platform. Hence the call to take all the necessary steps to avoid a lack of transparency in the televoting system. Even in the knowledge that there would be a 700% increase in the message load compared to the previous edition.
