P Foomer  
Via email: [FOI #12505 email] 
 
9th June 2009 
 
Dear Mr Foomer 
 
Your request for Information – RFI20090805 
 
Thank you for your request of 27th May 2008 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 seeking the 
following information:  
 
“Please inform me of any subliminal broadcasts transmitted on any of your television or radio channels, with 
dates and times. 
 
Please inform me of the shortest permissible video sequence duration allowable within any television 
broadcast” 
 
Your request falls outside the scope of the Act because the BBC and the other public service broadcasters 
are covered by the Act only in respect of information held for purposes “other than those of journalism, 
art or literature” (see Schedule I, Part VI of the Act). We are not therefore obliged to supply information 
held for the purposes of creating the BBC’s output or information that supports and is closely associated 
with these creative activities. Information which is not subject to disclosure under the Act because of 
Schedule I might otherwise be exempt from disclosure because of the application of other provisions of the 
Act.  
 
However you may be interested to know that the BBC prohibits the use of images of brief duration in its 
editorial guidelines. Please see the attached link below: 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/edguide/harm/imagesofverybri.shtml
 
For more information about how the Act applies to the BBC please see www.bbc.co.uk/foi.    Please note 
that this guidance is not intended to be a comprehensive legal interpretation of how the Act applies to the 
BBC. 
 
The BBC makes a huge range of information available about our programmes and content on bbc.co.uk. 
We also proactively publish information covered by the Act on our publication scheme and regularly handle 
requests for information under the Act.  
 

---

Appeal Rights 
 
The BBC does not offer an internal review when the information requested is not covered by the Act. If 
you disagree with our decision you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. Contact details are: 
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF telephone 
01625 545 700. http://www.ico.gov.uk
 
Yours sincerely, 
 
 
Beverley Salt 
Business Information Manager, BBC Vision 
 
 
 

---