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The following is issued on behalf of the Broadcasting Authority:
At its meeting in January 2010, the Broadcasting Authority (BA) considered four cases in respect of broadcasters' compliance with the codes of practices on programme and advertising standards:
(i) A public complaint about the television programme "Erotic Ghost Story" (聊齋艷譚) broadcast in the video-on-demand (VOD) service "now Select - Star Chinese Movies Choices" (now 自選服務 - 衛視自選電影台) of PCCW Media Limited (now TV) on September 3, 2009. The BA decided to impose on now TV a financial penalty of $150,000.
(ii) A case of dissatisfaction with the decision of the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing on a complaint about the radio programme "Talkabout" (千禧年代) broadcast on Radio 1 of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) on September 2, 2009. The BA advised RTHK to observe closely the relevant provision in the Radio Code of Practice on Programme Standards.
(iii) Two public complaints about the television programme "Born Rich" (富貴門) broadcast on Jade Channel of Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) on October 29, 2009. The BA advised TVB to observe closely the relevant provision in the Generic Code of Practice on Television Advertising Standards.
(iv) A public complaint about the television programme "Entertainment News" (娛樂新聞報道) broadcast on J2 Channel of TVB on September 24, 2009. The BA strongly advised TVB to observe closely the relevant provision in the Generic Code of Practice on Television Programme Standards.
Further details of the above cases are available in the Appendix.
The BA noted that in December 2009, the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing (CTEL) dealt with 116 cases (219 complaints) under her delegated authority, of which three cases (three complaints) were classified as minor breaches and 67 cases (163 complaints) were unsubstantiated. The remaining 46 cases (53 complaints) were held to be outside the ambit of the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance. The monthly complaint figures dealt with by CTEL from December 2008 to December 2009 are shown in Figure 1. A chart showing the nature of the unsubstantiated complaints in December 2009 is at Figure 2. Please visit the BA website (www.hkba.hk) for further information on the complaints.
Ends/Friday, January 29, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:08
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