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Countdown Ofcom Advertising

Countdown receives a letter from Ofcom clamping down on promos

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

June 6, 2016 | 2 min read

Channel 4 daily quiz show Countdown has received a warning from media watchdog Ofcom after it was found to breach on-air promotional rules.

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Presenter Nick Hewer plugged the Ideal Home Show at the beginning of an episode and later, a contestant, who was also a P&O Cruises ambassador, hit home the benefits of booking a trip through the company.

The broadcaster said it had no relations with either the Ideal Home Show (IHS) or P&O Cruises through Countdown and the plug for the IHS was “purely topical to inform viewers what was happening around the country”.

Furthermore, it argued that contestant Mark Foster’s comments on P&O Cruises were “not meant to be in any way promotional”.

It did however admit that the plugs “strayed into being unduly prominent” and as a result the episodes have been removed for Channel 4's video on demand service All4 and removed from its terrestrial schedule.

The content breached rule 9.4 and 9.5 of the broadcasting code.

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