Advertising, Alcohol, Estonia, Legislation, Markets and Companies, Telecomunications

"Essentially, it means banning alcohol advertising," commented TV3 Board Member Priit Leito the Social Ministry's plan to significantly restrict alcohol advertising, noting that alcohol advertising is an area that already is very well defined and limited, and where there is alcohol self-regulation working, agreed upon by alcohol producers and television channels.

"For private television channels, this bill is a disaster, and we are categorically against it," Leito said, adding that the TV stations have been loss-making for years and this is the death blow, which is why expects two or three TV channels to close.

"At the European Union's common media market, this move substantially reduces the competitiveness of all the channels, which have Estonia as the home of sending the signal and encourages all those who, via cable packages send their television feed to Estonian viewers from Western Europe, where the legal environment and politics is a lot more understandable for media companies."

A draft law that the Ministry of Social Affairs introduced on Monday will enforce a rigid control on the advertising of alcohol: the state wants to completely ban outdoor advertising of alcohol, happy hours in pubs and from 2017, sale of alcohol in petrol stations. The bill will ban the so-called lifestyle ads of alcohol and alcohol advertising ban on TV channels will be extended from 7:00 to 21:00 to 7:00 to 22:00.