Sky UK has promised to limit gambling adverts to one per ad break starting in August 2019. This limit will apply to all channels to whom Sky sells advertising. Sky typically auctions off its to gambling ads; therefore, the new limit will include channels like Viacom’s Channel 5 as well as those Sky operates directly. The current maximum number of gambling ads on Sky’s services per ad break is four.
The first major sporting event to air after the embargo goes into place will be the Premier League season.
The Telegraph broke the story, featuring an interview with Steven van Rooyen, the CEO of Sky UK, who confirmed that the driving force behind the change was customer concerns about gambling ad saturation. He further stated that more should be done to deal with online advertising and the lack of controls.
The Telegraph estimates that Sky UK controls half of all TV advertising in the UK.
Sky UK are also rolling out a control system, slated for 2020, which will allow users to opt out of gambling adverts altogether and replace them with alternate ads. Estimates of the cost of these moves to Sky UK are in the millions, but the fact that Sky auctions its gambling ad space will likely help to provide some damage limitation on the move, since the newly-limited slots will likely sell at a premium.
The company was bought last month by the U.S.-based cable provider Comcast for a reported $40 billion.
