e.tv which continues to fill its airwaves with explicit erotic programming such as Playboy Playmates and Bikini Babes on weekends accompanied by advertising for mobile porn, prompted a complaint to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA), with the complainant asking: "Do we really need such content being broadcast on national free-to-view television"?
The complaint filed the complaint saying an e.tv movie was recorded and the recording also ended up recorded some of the titillating television.
The BCCSA dismissed the complaint saying it "is not our task to decide whether the material is has a positive moral message or not, but whether there is any cogent reason for stopping this kind of material being broadcast after midnight."
The complaint to the BCCSA is casting the spotlight once again on what South African television is and want to be, given that the struggling pay-TV operator TopTV also wants to start pumping pornography over television in the form of a new bouquet of pornographic TV channels.
"The complainant is certainly not alone in her concerns," the BCCSA said in its judgement about e.tv's erotic nudity the channel is broadcasting and the BCCSA said it was "valuable for us to hear her view". "Ultimately the freedom of choice of adults to watch this kind of programme late at night decides the matter. TV licences are generally held by adults who must take the necessary measures to ensure that children do not watch this kind of programme."
e.tv in its defence said Playboy Playmates "contains no explicit sex, only niduty with the naughty parts blurred. it carried an 18NL advisory at the start and after each advert break." e.tv said the episode was aired at 00:15.
"What has South Africa come to that the rights of a TV channel to broadcast any smutty rubbish takes precedence over good taste?" the complainant asked. "If people want this smutty rubbish let them pay for it at a sex shop - not have it broadcast into ALL our homes."
"Let people who want this type of content PAY for it and view it in the privacy of their homesor elsewhere anot not expose the rest of the country to this smutty rubbish."
"I disagree strongly with it being available FOR FREE and accessible ("unsupervised" and uncontrolled) by anyone with a television and adequate reception."
"Instead of a 'watershed period' this timeslot should be called a 'free for all and anything' timeslot!" said the complainant. "What is has to do with shedding of water is truly obscure and though I understand that it is a 'term', by addressing this timeslot as such with a term it whitewashes what is being permitted to be broadcast during this timeslot."
