August 28th, 2008
Italy OKs TV product placement
By Eric J. Lyman
The Hollywood Reporter
VENICE—The Italian government will put current European rules on television content into effect Monday, officially making commercial product placements on the small screen legal.
The practice has been allowed in most other European Union member states for years, but Italy officially resisted the move until now. Though the site of brand names in Italian television programs is not unheard of, it was previously illegal to place them there for a fee.