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The South African pay TV operator Top TV (TopTV 100) has been found guilty of contravening the Broadcasting Code of Conduct for Subscription Broadcasting by broadcasting a movie, The Alarmist, which contains graphic sexual content, with a wrong and too low age restriction advisory and showing it way too early at 17:00.
Although TopTV has not been fined for the transgression of showing the movie with an incorrect age restriction and too early in the day, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) has given TopTV a stark warning in its judgement: "The error made in this case, should however, caution the broadcaster to take much more trouble in establishing what the guidance of the South African Film and Publication Board (FBP) is".
The FPB is responsible for rating all movies and providing a classification for films for South Africa.
TopTV in its response admitted that it didn't contact the South African Film and Publication Board (FPB) when it couldn't find an age classification and rating for the film online, and only contacted the FPB telephonically after the BCCSA and TopTV received the viewer complaint.
TopTV which applied its own rating of 13 LS, was told by the FPB that the movie carries the substantially higher 16 LS age restriction. TopTV then immediately re-rated the film by by then had already showed it.
"Where a broadcaster departs from a classification made by the FPB by making it less stringent, it must give very good reasons for such a departure," says the BCCSA in its judgement.
"Since the broadcaster immediately rectified the error after the complaint was received and conceded that it had made an error, we have decided that a reprimand will suffice," says the BCCSA in its judgement.
