Ofcom Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin Issue number 306 6 June 2016 1 Ofcom Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin, Issue 306 6 June 2016 Contents Introduction 3 Broadcast Standards cases In Breach Q Radio Breeze Q Radio 96.7 FM, 2 April 2016, 14:00 5 Countdown Channel 4, 21 March 2016, 15:10 7 Broadcast Licence Conditions cases In Breach Production of recordings BritAsia TV, 5 January 2016, 16:00 10 Broadcasting licensees’ non-payment of licence fees Various licensees 12 Resolved Retention and production of recordings Ipswich Community Radio, 7 February 2016, 13:45 13 Broadcast Fairness and Privacy cases Not Upheld Complaint by Mr Chinyere Inyama ITV London News, ITV, 2 November 2015 15 On Demand cases Appeal by Pandora Blake about the service ‘Dreams of Spanking’ 20 Appeal by Laura Jenkins about the services ‘Candy Girl Pass’ 30 and ‘All Teens World’ Tables of cases Complaints assessed, not investigated 46 Complaints outside of remit 53 Investigations List 55 2 Ofcom Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin, Issue 306 6 June 2016 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 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. Ofcom must include these standards in a code, codes or rules. These are listed below. The Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin reports on the outcome of investigations into alleged breaches of those Ofcom codes and rules 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 the ASA on the basis of their rules and guidance for advertising content on ODPS. These Codes, rules and guidance documents include: a) Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code (“the Code”) for content broadcast on television and radio services. b) the Code on the Scheduling of Television Advertising (“COSTA”) which contains rules on how much advertising and teleshopping may be scheduled in television 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 for on television and radio services. 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) Ofcom’s Statutory Rules and Non-Binding Guidance for Providers of On- Demand Programme Services for editorial content on ODPS. Ofcom considers sanctions in relation to advertising content on ODPS on referral by the Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”), the co-regulator of ODPS for advertising or may do so as a concurrent regulator. Other codes and requirements may also apply to broadcasters, depending on their circumstances. These include the Code on Television Access Services (which sets out how much subtitling, signing and audio description relevant licensees must 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. 3 Ofcom Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin, Issue 306 6 June 2016 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 and On Demand Bulletin may therefore cause offence. 4 Ofcom Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin, Issue 306 6 June 2016 Broadcast Standards cases In Breach Q Radio Breeze Q Radio 96.7 FM, 2 April 2016, 14:00 Introduction Q Radio Breeze is a weekly radio show broadcast in Northern Ireland on Q Radio Greater Belfast on 96.7 FM. The licence for Q Radio 96.7 FM is held by Belfast City Beat Limited (“the Licensee”). A complainant alerted Ofcom to the use of offensive language during the Q Radio Breeze show broadcast on a Saturday afternoon between 14:25 and 14:35. The song “Pillowtalk” by the pop singer Zayn Malik was played that featured two uses of the word “fucking”. We considered the material raised issues warranting investigation under the following rule: Rule 1.14: “The most offensive language must not be broadcast…when children are particularly likely to be listening (in the case of radio)”. We therefore asked the Licensee for its comments on how the content complied with this rule. Response In response to Ofcom’s Preliminary View, the Licensee apologised for the unintentional broadcast of this song, which featured the most offensive language at a time when children were particularly likely to be listening. The Licensee acknowledged its responsibility for this. The Licensee explained that offensive language would usually be identified and edited before broadcast. However on this occasion, the song had been downloaded from a service that did not identify that it contained explicit lyrics. The Licensee advised that after the song had been broadcast, the presenter contacted the programme manager and the song was “immediately edited” to remove the two offensive words. The Licensee added that the presenter had not apologised to listeners following the broadcast of the song. However, it stated that as a result of this incident, it had reinforced its guidance to all presenters that “if offensive language appears on air…that they are to apologise to listeners at the earliest possible opportunity”. Decision Under the Communication Act 2003, Ofcom has a statutory duty to set standards for broadcast content as appear to it best calculated to secure the standards objectives, one of which is that “persons under the age of eighteen are protected”. This objective is reflected in Section One of the Code. 5 Ofcom Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin, Issue 306 6 June 2016 Rule 1.14 of the Code states that the most offensive language must not be broadcast on radio when children are particularly likely to be listening. Ofcom’s guidance on offensive language on radio1 states that: “For the purpose of determining when children are particularly likely to be listening, Ofcom will take account of all relevant information available to it. However, based on Ofcom’s analysis of audience listening data, and previous Ofcom decisions, radio broadcasters should have particular regard to broadcasting content at the following times: Between 06:00 and 19:00 at weekends all year around…”. Ofcom research on offensive language2 notes that the word “fuck” and variations of this word are considered by audiences to be amongst the most offensive language. In this case, the word “fucking” was broadcast twice on 2 April between 14:25 and 14:35 on a weekend. The most offensive language was therefore broadcast at a time when children were likely to be listening and there was a clear breach of Rule 1.14. Breach of Rule 1.14 1 http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/broadcast/guidance/831193/offensive- language.pdf 2 http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/tv-research/offensive-lang.pdf 6 Ofcom Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin, Issue 306 6 June 2016 In Breach Countdown Channel 4, 21 March 2016, 15:10 Introduction Countdown is a long standing game show in which two contestants compete against each other in word and number games. A celebrity guest features in every programme. Ofcom received a complaint about the above episode of Countdown. The programme was opened by the host, Nick Hewer, as follows: “Good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown studio. And we all know that there is no place like home and over the weekend this year’s Ideal Home Show opened its doors to inspire us on how to improve our homes and make them even more beautiful. It’s all happening at Olympia and it’s running until April 3rd and there are talks and tips and what-have-you from such experts as Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen and TV architect George Clarke. If you are going, good luck, get some great ideas, and good luck with the home improvements”. Later in the programme, the guest, Mark Foster, talked about his role as an ambassador for P&O Cruises and made numerous comments about the array of different activities and services that are available on board their cruise ships, including such comments as: “Lots of different entertainment on board: dance troupes, coffee shops, restaurants – there’s probably about 20 to 30 restaurants on board. A five-a-side football pitch, a basketball court…” Channel 4 confirmed that there was no commercial relationship between it, the programme makers, or any person connected with either, and The Ideal Home Show or P&O Cruises.