Self-regulation and Television Advertising: A Replication and Extension

ABSTRACT Although television stations have the right to reject almost any advertisement submitted for broadcast, exercising that power to protect consumers from potentially false or misleading claims can directly lower station revenues. We replicate a 1986 survey of television station advertising review decisions finding that both requests for substantiation of advertising claims and rejection of commercial submissions fell. Unlike previous research, we find that the stringency of advertising review standards varied sharply by daypart. We also identify factors influencing the stringency of clearance decisions and give practical suggestions for improving advertising review procedures at television stations.