LED ad boards go dark amid push to revive outdoor advertising in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Close to 100 LED display boards illegally screening commercial advertisements across the city have gone dark in recent days, though the physical installations continue to remain atop several buildings.

Some of these blank boards can be seen at MG Road, Brigade Road and Richmond Road. Action has also been initiated in the northern part of city, which falls under Bengaluru North city corporation.

The partial compliance comes as the state government is preparing to issue a final notification to reintroduce outdoor advertising in Bengaluru after a prolonged ban.

While the LED screens have stopped displaying advertisements, it remains unclear whether the action is a permanent enforcement measure or a temporary pause ahead of their possible regularisation under the upcoming policy.

Sources in the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) said the LED boards were operating without authorisation by exploiting permissions meant for self-advertisement by business establishments. These permissions allow shops and offices to display their own name or branding, but not third-party commercial advertising. In practice, several advertisers were found using these approvals to run commercial advertisements without paying any charges to the corporations.

The draft outdoor advertising policy, which is now set to be finalised, includes a provision to legitimise unauthorised hoardings and digital boards by allowing operators to pay a prescribed fee and come under a formal regulatory framework. The final policy is expected to be notified soon.

"What we are seeing could well be a tactical shutdown," said a senior civic official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "If the policy allows retrospective regularisation, operators may simply be waiting to fall in line once the notification is issued."

The unauthorised LED boards had started mushrooming in the last two years. As per rough estimates, there are about 250 such illegal boards across the city, but officials took no action until recently.

The subject of illegal advertising boards had also come up in the assembly session, with MLAs pointing to revenue loss to the corporation.

Illegal LED ad boards on MG Road switched off but not removed. DH PHOTO/PUSHKAR V

Illegal LED ad boards on MG Road switched off but not removed. DH PHOTO/PUSHKAR V