******************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Broadcasting Authority:
At its meeting today (November 19), the Broadcasting Authority (BA) considered five complaint cases concerning 148 complaints substantiated. The first case was about Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB)'s infringement of Hong Kong Cable Television Limited (HKCTV)'s copyright by broadcasting an unauthorised version of the final match of the 2002 FIFA World Cup on the TVB Jade and Pearl Channels on June 30, 2002. TVB was advised to observe more closely its licence requirement on the infringement of copyright in broadcast programme.
The second case was about the television advertisement for "Prime Credit" broadcast on the Jade channel of TVB on August 22, 2005 at 12:15pm and on the Cable News 2 channel of HKCTV on August 24, 2005 at 6:45pm. The BA considered that the advertisement conveyed a misguided message embracing materialism to children; had an adverse effect on father-son relationship; and did not portray important human relationships in a sensitive and responsible manner. The BA considered the advertisement denigrating to the poor, as the boy turned away from his father because of his lowly looks. The BA also considered that the advertisement conveyed misleading messages as it imparted the message that poor fathers should borrow money from financial institutions to become good fathers. TVB and HKCTV were advised to observe more closely the relevant Code of Practice on good manners and behaviour of children in advertisements, denigration and insult on the basis of social status, and the portrayal of important family and human relationships to be treated with sensitivity and not in an exploitative or irresponsible manner.
The third case was about the television programme "News Magazine" broadcast on the Jade channel of TVB on June 25, 2005 at 7:05pm - 7:30pm. The BA considered that the programme in general, including the remarks on gifted and talented persons, had not presented factual contents in an accurate manner, as the programme had generalised problems faced by gifted and talented persons based on specific individual cases, presenting mainly the negative aspects. The qualification of one of the interviewees, featured as an educational psychologist in the programme, was also unsubstantiated. The BA considered that TVB had not exercised due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the factual content of the programme. TVB was advised to observe more closely the relevant Code of Practice on accuracy of factual contents of programmes.
The fourth case was about the television programme "Fantasy Hotel" broadcast on the Jade channel of TVB on July 15, 2005 at 8:00pm - 9:00pm. The BA considered that the depiction of a man picking his ears with a pen was unsuitable for children's viewing and should not be broadcast in a programme straddling the family viewing hours, as there might still be children viewing the programme. The act, if imitated by children, could cause injuries to them. TVB was advised to observe more closely the relevant Code of Practice on family viewing policy under which licensees should not show unsuitable for children material in programmes straddling the family viewing hours (4:00pm - 8:30pm).
The fifth case was about the radio programme "QQ Co" broadcast on the Radio 2 channel of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) on July 9, 2005 at 2:00pm - 4:00pm. The BA noted that the programme host related his personal dispute with a policeman in a traffic accident in the captioned programme. The BA considered that the disclosure of the policeman's staff number by the programme host was irresponsible behaviour, unacceptable, and constituted an abuse of public airwaves. RTHK was seriously warned to observe more closely the relevant Code of Practice on programmes to be handled in a responsible manner.
The BA also noted that from October 21 to 31, 2005, the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing dealt with 57 cases (92 complaints) under her delegated authority, of which 4 cases (7 complaints) were classified as minor breaches, and 35 cases (66 complaints) as unsubstantiated, under section 11 of the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance; and 18 cases (19 complaints) were outside the ambit of section 11 of the Ordinance. Please refer to the BA website: www.hkba.hk for details of the complaints.
Ends/Saturday, November 19, 2005
Issued at HKT 13:13
NNNN
