Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin Issue number 236 27 August 2013 1 Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin, Issue 236 27 August 2013 Contents Introduction 5 Notices of Sanction Paigham-e-Mustafa Noor TV, 3 May 2012, 11:00 7 Programme about the attack on Lieutenant-General Brar Sangat TV, 1 October 2012, 19:40 8 Global Khatm-E-Nabuwat Movement Takbeer TV, 9 June 2012, 22:00 Khatm-E-Nabuwat Takbeer TV, 3 July 2011, 22:00 9 Standards cases In Breach Provision of recording ATN Bangla, 26 April 2013, 18:00 10 Hollyoaks Channel 4, 19 March 2013, 18:30 12 Associated Note to Broadcasters: Violence in pre-watershed programmes 20 Dave Kelly Radio City 96.7FM, 17 May 2013, 17:00 21 Clinic Matters Vox Africa, 18 January 2013, 20:30 24 Material Girl Klear TV, 17 and 18 February 2013, 19:30 33 Item for Free Mawlana Sayeedi Federation UK Bangla TV, 11 February 2013, 00:10 and 00:37 40 Maya Nigom NTV, 14 April 2013, 21:00 News NTV, 14 April 2013, 21:30 47 Sponsorship of Idiots Channel Nine UK, 6 March 2013 Sponsorship of Power Voice 2012 Channel Nine UK, 7 March and 18 April 2013 49 2 Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin, Issue 236 27 August 2013 Weather Ambur Radio, September 2012 to April 2013, various times 54 Drivetime Gravity FM, 18 and 19 April 2013, 16:00 56 Advertising Scheduling cases Note to Broadcasters The positioning of advertising breaks within the broadcast of films 60 In Breach Breach findings table Code on the Scheduling of Television Advertising compliance reports 61 Resolved Resolved findings tables Code on the Scheduling of Television Advertising compliance reports 62 Broadcast Licensing Condition cases In Breach Blast 106 Providing a service in accordance with ‘key commitments’: 28, 29 and 30 January 2013 64 Fairness and Privacy cases Upheld Complaint by Ms D The Hotel, Channel 4, 20 January 2013 71 Not Upheld Complaint by Mr John Barton Jayne Cowboy Traders, Channel 5, 18 April 2012 78 Complaint by Ms Rachel Gray Exposure: The British Way of Death, ITV1, 26 September 2012 104 Complaint by Mr Lynton Spence Exposure: The British Way of Death, ITV1, 26 September 2012 125 Complaint by Mr Lee Hollywood Exposure: The British Way of Death, ITV1, 26 September 2012 138 3 Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin, Issue 236 27 August 2013 Complaint by Ms D Sunday Brunch, Channel 4, 27 January 2013 151 Complaint by Miss Karen Riley On-Air Announcement, Star Radio North East, 11 March 2013 157 Other Programmes Not in Breach 162 Complaints Assessed, Not Investigated 163 Investigations List 173 4 Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin, Issue 236 27 August 2013 Introduction Under the Communications Act 2003 (“the Act”), Ofcom has a duty to set standards for broadcast content as appear to it best calculated to secure the standards objectives1. Ofcom must include these standards in a code or codes. These are listed below. Ofcom also has a duty to secure that every provider of a notifiable On Demand Programme Services (“ODPS”) complies with certain standards requirements as set out in the Act2. The Broadcast Bulletin reports on the outcome of investigations into alleged breaches of those Ofcom codes below, as well as licence conditions with which broadcasters regulated by Ofcom are required to comply. We also report on the outcome of ODPS sanctions referrals made by ATVOD and the ASA on the basis of their rules and guidance for ODPS. These Codes, rules and guidance documents include: a) Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code (“the Code”). b) the Code on the Scheduling of Television Advertising (“COSTA”) which contains rules on how much advertising and teleshopping may be scheduled in programmes, how many breaks are allowed and when they may be taken. c) certain sections of the BCAP Code: the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising, which relate to those areas of the BCAP Code for which Ofcom retains regulatory responsibility. These include: the prohibition on ‘political’ advertising; sponsorship and product placement on television (see Rules 9.13, 9.16 and 9.17 of the Code) and all commercial communications in radio programming (see Rules 10.6 to 10.8 of the Code); ‘participation TV’ advertising. This includes long-form advertising predicated on premium rate telephone services – most notably chat (including ‘adult’ chat), ‘psychic’ readings and dedicated quiz TV (Call TV quiz services). Ofcom is also responsible for regulating gambling, dating and ‘message board’ material where these are broadcast as advertising3. d) other licence conditions which broadcasters must comply with, such as requirements to pay fees and submit information which enables Ofcom to carry out its statutory duties. Further information can be found on Ofcom’s website for television and radio licences. e) rules and guidance for both editorial content and advertising content on ODPS. Ofcom considers sanctions in relation to ODPS on referral by the Authority for Television On-Demand (“ATVOD”) or the Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”), co-regulators of ODPS for editorial content and advertising respectively, or may do so as a concurrent regulator. Other codes and requirements may also apply to broadcasters and ODPS, depending on their circumstances. These include the Code on Television Access Services (which sets out how much subtitling, signing and audio description relevant 1 The relevant legislation is set out in detail in Annex 1 of the Code. 2 The relevant legislation can be found at Part 4A of the Act. 3 BCAP and ASA continue to regulate conventional teleshopping content and spot advertising for these types of services where it is permitted. Ofcom remains responsible for statutory sanctions in all advertising cases. 5 Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin, Issue 236 27 August 2013 licensees must provide), the Code on Electronic Programme Guides, the Code on Listed Events, and the Cross Promotion Code. It is Ofcom’s policy to describe fully the content in television, radio and on demand content. Some of the language and descriptions used in Ofcom’s Broadcast Bulletin may therefore cause offence. 6 Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin, Issue 236 27 August 2013 Notice of Sanction Noor TV Paigham-e-Mustafa, 3 May 2012, 11:00 Introduction Noor TV is a digital satellite television channel that broadcasts programmes about Islam in a number of languages, including English, Urdu and Punjabi. It can be received in the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The licence for the Noor TV service is held by Al Ehya Digital Television Limited. Summary of Decision In its finding published on 17 December 2012 in issue 220 of Ofcom’s Broadcast Bulletin1, Ofcom found that Al Ehya had seriously breached the Code by broadcasting material which was in breach of Rules 3.1 and 4.1: Rule 3.1: “Material likely to encourage or incite the commission of crime or to lead to disorder must not be included in television or radio services”. Rule 4.1: “Broadcasters must exercise the proper degree of responsibility with respect to the content of programmes which are religious programmes.” Ofcom considered these to be very serious breaches of the Code. The broadcast of material likely to encourage crime or lead to disorder has the potential to cause significant harm. Further, the Licensee failed to have in place robust compliance procedures that could have prevented the material being broadcast. In accordance with Ofcom’s Penalty Guidelines, Ofcom decided it was appropriate and proportionate in the very serious circumstances of this broadcast to impose a financial penalty of £85,000 on Al Ehya Digital Television Limited in respect of the Code breaches (payable to HM Paymaster General). In addition, Ofcom considered that the Licensee should be directed to broadcast a statement of Ofcom’s findings in this case, on a date and in a form to be determined by Ofcom and be directed never to repeat this material on its service again. The full adjudication is available at: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/enforcement/content-sanctions- adjudications/noor-tv.pdf 1 http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/enforcement/broadcast- bulletins/obb220/obb220.pdf. 7 Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin, Issue 236 27 August 2013 Notice of Sanction Programme about the attack on Lieutenant-General Brar Sangat TV, 1 October 2012, 19:40 Introduction Sangat TV is a general entertainment satellite broadcaster that broadcasts in English and Punjabi. It is based in Birmingham and broadcasts via the Eutelsat 28A - Sky UK satellite to the Sikh community. The licence holder for Sangat TV is Regis 1 Limited1 (“the Licensee”). The sanction relates to a programme concerning an attack on the retired Indian army general, Kuldip Singh Brar, who led the controversial military operation against the Golden Temple at Amritsar in 1984. The attack took place on 30 September 2012 and was conducted on a London street by a number of Sikh extremists with knives. Lieutenant-General Brar survived the attack. Summary of Decision In its findings published on 21 January 2013 in Broadcast Bulletin 2222, Ofcom found that the programme contained material likely to encourage or incite the commission of crime. In particular, the programme contained statements from various contributors that Ofcom found were likely to encourage members of the Sikh community to take violent action against Lieutenant-General Brar, other members of the Indian armed forces who had taken part in Operation Bluestar in June 1984, or those who supported that military operation. Ofcom found that the programme breached Rule 3.1 of the Code: Rule 3.1: “Material likely to encourage or incite the commission of crime or to lead to disorder must not be included in television or radio services.” Ofcom considered these to be very serious breaches of the Code. The broadcast of material likely to encourage crime or lead to disorder has the potential to cause significant harm.