Prague has reduced advertising space in the center. Entrepreneurs complain to the Antimonopoly Office – ČT24 – Czech Television
Smaller and larger tarpaulins cover entire houses in Prague. The subsequent view outside the apartments made the windows part of the advertisement for a while. According to the municipality, such sails are to be removed. Some agencies have put them down, some still.
“We find the decree in conflict with the competition law. Both the Office for the Protection of Competition and the European Commission have been investigating this for several months. We will wait for the conclusions of the investigation and follow it accordingly, “said Josef Soušek, Chairman of the Association of Czech Outdoor Advertising Companies.
The municipality is preparing inspections and fines
Restrictions on advertising apply not only to buildings in the listed historic center but also to neighborhoods in its vicinity. If the sails are placed in the right place, they will be checked by municipal officials. They can impose a fine of up to two million for violating the regulation. “We are also going to write to advertisers who have advertising on those sails, because we believe that they do not want to associate their brand with an illegal sail, that would be their reputation risk,” said Kristýna Drápelová, coordinator for visual smog at the City of Prague.
“We have such a scandal here in Prague. Advertising terrorism. This is really something that cannot be suffered, there will be order here, not any anarchy, “Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) condemned illegal billboards last September. A car with a hydraulic arm and an assembly platform also had to be a warning.
Prague removed thirty billboards a year
In the last year, with his help, the capital has removed more than thirty. Some reappeared in the streets. “They can serve as a relatively large risk,” warned Tomáš Novotný, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Technology of the Capital City of Prague.
Illegal removed billboards end up in the Technology area of the capital city of Prague. The owners can pick it up, but only after paying the costs associated with their disassembly. These range from two to four thousand crowns. They usually pick them up. About sixty thousand crowns have already returned to the city.