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The following is issued on behalf of the Broadcasting Authority:
At its meeting on October 28, the Broadcasting Authority (BA) issued its findings on the following complaint cases.
In September 2006, the BA considered one complaint case and one appeal case, concerning three public complaints, substantiated. The first case concerned the television programme "Atypical IQ Show" (IQ双拼之06细界杯狂热) broadcast on the Cable Children's Channel of Hong Kong Cable Television Limited (HKCTV) on June 30, 2006 from 9am to 10am. The second case was an appeal against the decision of the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing on the complaints about the television programme "What A Wonderful Life"(活得很滋味) broadcast on the Cable Entertainment Channel of HKCTV on June 11, 2006 from 3pm to 4pm. Please see Annex for details.
The BA also noted that from September 2006 to October 15, 2006, the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing dealt with 122 cases (213 complaints) under her delegated authority, of which five cases (five complaints) were classified as minor breaches, and 92 cases (181 complaints) as unsubstantiated, under section 11 of the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance (BAO). Twenty-five cases (27 complaints) were outside section 11 of the BAO. Please refer to the BA website: www.hkba.hk for details of the complaints.
Annex
Summary of substantiated complaint cases
Case 1 - Television programme "Atypical IQ Show" (IQ双拼之06细界杯狂热) broadcast on the Cable Children's Channel of Hong Kong Cable Television Limited (HKCTV) on June 30, 2006 from 9am to 10am
The BA considered that the hosts' remark in the programme that the Brazilian soccer player, Rivaldo, should not have openly admitted that he had simulated a foul (插水) and should have kept his play-acting a secret forever was unsuitable as they were talking to a child on the phone and their remarks exerted a bad influence on children.
HKCTV was advised to observe more closely paragraphs 1 and 11 of Chapter 7 of the Generic Codes of Practice on Television Programme Standards, which stipulate that licensees should be vigilant about the likely effects of broadcast material on children and that disrespect for good morals should be strictly avoided in children's programmes.
Case 2 - Appeal against the Decision of the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing on Public Complaints about the Television Programme "What A Wonderful Life" (活得很滋味) broadcast on the Cable Entertainment Channel of HKCTV on June 11, 2006 from 3pm to 4pm
A member of the public appealed against the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing's decision on two complaints, the substance of which was that the hostess of the cooking programme used a food item to explain transsexual operations.
The BA noted that the Entertainment Channel under concern was a general viewing channel in the basic package of HKCTV. Unlike adult channels or other premium channels, viewers do not need registration or a PIN to access the channel. Children and teenagers were able to access the channel freely. The BA also noted that the culinary programme was well received by the general audience, which included children and teenagers as the programme covered a wide range of topics that were of general interest.
The BA was of the view that (i) although there were no Family Viewing Hours or children's time slots for domestic pay television programme service, the licensees were responsible for ensuring that the programmes on their services were suitable for their likely audience; (ii) the content about transsexual operations was of an adult nature; (iii) the programme hostess had already admitted in the programme that the subject about transsexual operations was of an adult nature; (iv) the illustration of transsexual operations with a loofah in the programme was descriptive and graphic; and (v) the content about transsexual operations was out of the context in a culinary programme.
The BA considered that the impromptu inclusion of a topic on transsexual operations in a general viewing programme, which was broadcast repeatedly and especially in the afternoon hours when children viewers might be watching, was inappropriate. Besides, such adult content might also be offensive to general viewers who did not expect to view material of an adult nature in a culinary programme.
HKCTV was strongly advised to observe more closely paragraph 8 of Chapter 2 of the Generic Code of Practice on Television Programme Standards, which requires the licensee to ensure that programmes are suitable for their likely audience, and that programme material suitable for viewing by adults only should be clearly labelled as such.
Ends/Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Issued at HKT 11:12
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