
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 19, 1990                   TAG: 9005190171
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

HOUSE COMMITEE URGES CONTROL OF `INFOMERCIALS'

In a darkened hearing room, a House subcommittee watched a TV monitor Friday as a supposed scientific breakthrough was revealed: "Bad sex or no sex becomes good sex," viewers were assured. "Good sex becomes great sex."

The attention-grabbing claims came on an "infomercial" for a clinic for male sexual disorders. An emerging trend in broadcasting, infomercials are program-length commercials that often appear to be talk shows or newscasts.

The format can mislead TV watchers, witnesses told two House Small Business subcommittees. They warned that consumers need more protection against fraudulent infomercial claims and sales pitches disguised as objective reporting.

Such long-form commercials often air on local broadcast stations or cable networks during non-peak hours, which are low-cost time slots. To win viewer trust, they sometimes use celebrity hosts or actors portraying experts.

The long-form TV commercials led to $450 million in consumer spending last year, Wyden said, and "by 1992, infomercial-driven merchandise sales could reach $1.6 billion."

The witnesses and committee members agreed that no new laws are needed to regulate infomercials if existing ones are enforced.

by CNB