Kanaal Z, now rebranded as Trends Z, has been fined €7,500 by the Flemish Regulator for Media, VRM, for airing commercial content promoting a tobacco company on its programme series 'Z-Business Transformation.'
VRM’s investigative division reviewed broadcasts of the show on 6, 13, 20, and 27 March, as well as 3 April 2025. The series reportedly featured one of the world’s largest international tobacco firms, focusing on its production and sale of tobacco products.
According to VRM, representatives of the tobacco company were given unrestricted opportunities to promote smoke-free alternatives from their product range throughout the series.
These broadcasts, the regulator stated, resembled promotional corporate advertising aimed at bolstering the company’s image and sales, rather than offering a neutral or journalistic perspective. No effort was made to critically examine the company’s commercial objectives.
In determining the penalty, VRM took into account the serious nature of violations related to health protection in commercial communication. However, it also considered the limited reach of the broadcasts.
In another case, Ring TV, the regional broadcaster for the Halle-Vilvoorde district, was fined €1,500 for airing an advertorial without clearly labelling it as such.
The advertorial in question, lasting eight minutes and thirty seconds, promoted a local kitchen and Bespoke Furniture company. It was broadcast twice during a period evaluated by VRM.
The regulator found that this violated Article 79, § 1, of the Flemish Media Decree, which stipulates that television advertising—apart from self-promotion—must be clearly recognisable and distinguishable from editorial content. Advertisements must be visually, acoustically, or spatially separated from other programme content, VRM stressed.
