Quotes from History, II, the UK

We attach great important to the maintenance of a high standard of broadcast programmes, with continuous efforts to secure improvement, and we think that advertisements would lower the standard. The broadcasting of advertisements on a large scale would tend to make the service unpopular, and thus defeat its own ends. ... The time which could be devoted to advertising should in any case be very limited, and, therefore, exceedingly valuable; and the operating authorities, who would want revenue, would naturally prefer the big advertiser who was ready to pay highly, with the result that only he would get a chance of advertising. This would be too high a privilege to give to a few big advertisers at the risk of lowering the general standard of broadcasting. We consider, however, that there would be no objection to the operating concern being allowed to accept the gift of a concern and to broadcast a preliminary announcement giving the name of the donor; and also to broadcast the name of the publisher and the price of a song which is about to be broadcast.

• Broadcasting Committee Report (chairman: Sir Frederick Sykes), 1923, para 41., quoted at terramedia.