ITV

Tag: BCCC

  • Electronic Media Monitoring Centre to go up to 1500 channels by 2017: Rathore

    Electronic Media Monitoring Centre to go up to 1500 channels by 2017: Rathore

    NEW DELHI: The government hopes to increase the capacity of the state-of-art Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC), which currently monitors around 300 television channels, to 1500 by 2017.

     
    Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore told Parliament that these 300 channels are chosen randomly out of the 839 channels beaming into Indian homes.

     
    He said that the aim was to first achieve the target of monitoring 600 channels within the next few months, while answering a question about reality shows playing with the sentiments of the people.

    In a reply to a supplementary question about young children being used in dance shows, Rathore said that there are a large number of channels and there is undoubtedly a race to attract as many eyeballs as possible. Therefore, most of these channels, no doubt, are walking a very thin line and working in that grey area. However, there is a freedom of expression. Therefore, the government does not want to impinge on the freedom of expression. Keeping in mind the morality, decency and various levels of acceptance on television, certain guidelines have been issued. “What the Ministry can say is that we will issue advisories and we will also take into account any complaint that comes,” he said.

     

    He also said that a Task Force had earlier been set up to work on a regulatory body but the channels had opposed this and wanted self-regulation.

     
    Answering the main question, I&B Minister Arun Jaitley said no fact had been brought to the notice of the government alleging shows playing with sentiments of the people. However, the content carried on private satellite TV channels is regulated according to the provisions of the Programme and Advertising Codes contained in the Cable Television Network Rules 1994 and the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act 1995. The rules provide for a whole range of parameters to regulate programme and advertisements on TV channels including the reality shows.

     
    The programme code says that no programme should be carried which (a) offends good taste or decency (b) contains anything obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half truths (c) criticizes, maligns or slanders any individual in person or certain groups, segments of social, public and moral life of the country (d) denigrates women through the depiction in any manner of the figure of a woman, her form or body or any part thereof in such a way as to have the effect of being indecent or derogatory to women, or is likely to deprave, corrupt or injure the public morality or morals (e) denigrates children (f) is not suitable for unrestricted public exhibition (g) is unsuitable for children.

     

    Action is taken against defaulting channels whenever any violation of the said codes is noticed or brought to the notice of the Ministry.

     

    The Ministry also has an Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) to look into the violations of the Programme and Advertisement Codes. IMC has representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Defence, External Affairs, Law, Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare, Consumer Affairs and a representative from the industry in Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). IMC meets periodically and recommends action against violations.

     

    Besides, as part of self-regulation by industry, Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), which is a representative body of non-news and current affairs TV channels, has set up Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) to examine the complaints about television programmes.

     

  • Justice Mukul Mudgal appointed Chairperson of BCCC

    Justice Mukul Mudgal appointed Chairperson of BCCC

    MUMBAI: The Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) has got a new Chairperson in Justice (Retd.) Mukul Mudgal, the former Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court and former Judge of the Delhi High court. The Board of Directors of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has approved Mudgal’s appointment for the self-regulatory body of the IBF.

     

    Justice Mudgal succeeds Justice (Retd.) Ajit Prakash Shah, who demitted office as the Chairperson of BCCC after being appointed the Chairperson of the Twentieth Law Commission of India in November, 2013.

     

    Justice Mudgal will chair the 32nd Meeting of BCCC towards the end of this month.

     

    A BSc (Hons) graduate from Delhi University’s Hindu College and LLB from Law Faculty, DU, Justice Mudgal has a lot of interest in classical music, sports and reading. He was appointed the Judge of Delhi High Court on Delhi on 2 March, 1998 and elevated as the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court on 5 December, 2009 from where he retired on 3 January, 2011.

     

    After retirement, he chaired a committee set up by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to propose changes in the Cinematograph Act, 1952. He also chaired a committee appointed by the Supreme Court of India to inquire into the allegations of match-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

  • Two Big CBS channels face penalty by BCCC for violation of programme code

    Two Big CBS channels face penalty by BCCC for violation of programme code

    NEW DELHI: Two separate channels of the Big CBS bouquet have been levied financial penalties by the Broadcast Content Complaints Council (BCCC) for “transgression of programming codes and ethics”.

     

    The action was taken against Big CBS Love and Big CBS Spark following a complaint by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

     

    The industry regulator headed by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice A.P. Shah said the rap song ‘No lie’ by rappers Drake and No Change on Big CBS Spark contains ‘highly inappropriate language and are grossly offensive to good taste and decency.’

     

    After issuing a show-cause notice and hearing the channel, the BCCC decided to impose a financial penalty of Rs 2,50,000 on the Channel. The Channel had been directed to deposit the amount of financial penalty with the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) on or before 15 September.

     

    The Council also directed the channel to run an apology scroll in English, in large and legible bold fonts at normal speed, every two hours over a period of three days from 12 p.m. on 25 August 2013 to 10 a.m. on Wednesday 28 August 2003. The scroll will read: “In compliance with BCCC’s Order passed on 14 August 2013, Big CBS Spark apologises for the telecast of rap song ‘No Lie’ by rappers No Chainz and Drake on 2 May 2013. This programme was found to be in violation of Indian Broadcasting Foundation’s (IBF) Self-Regulatory Guidelines.”

     

    The song had been telecast on 2 May this year and the channel was issued a show cause notice and heard on 10 July and 12 August. BCCC found the defence of the channel about it being a niche channel or restructuring its Standards and Practices Department were untenable.

     

    The Council found that the programme in question is violating Clauses (a), (d) and (k) of the ‘Programme Code’. In addition to this, the programmes are also violating Guidelines 1 and 2 of ‘Theme 2: Sex, Obscenity and Nudity’ of the IBF Self-Regulatory Guidelines. Furthermore, the Programme is also violating Clause a) of Category ‘G’ Programmes for unrestricted viewing and/or under parental guidance as well as Clause a) of Category ‘R’ Programmes.

     

    In the complaint relating to Big CBS Love, the BCCC considered a series of complaints against Big CBS Love Channel for its three Programmes ‘Sex and the City’ (7, 9, 10, 11, 17, 21, 23 & 29 April 2013), ‘America’s Next Top Model’ (20 March 2013) and ‘Britain’s Next Top Model’ (15 April 2013).

     

    The BCCC after hearing the channel in reply to the show cause notice decided to impose a consolidated financial penalty of Rs 10,00,000. The Channel was directed to deposit the mount of Financial Penalty with the Indian Broadcasting Foundation on or before 15 September 2013.

     

    The Council also directed the channel to run an Apology Scroll, in English, in large and legible bold fonts at normal speed, every Two hours, over a period of seven days, from 12 Noon on 24 August 2013 to 10 AM on 31 August 2013. The scroll will read:

     

    “In compliance with BCCC’s Order passed on 14 August 2013, Big CBS Love apologizes for the telecast of its Programmes ‘Sex and the City’, ‘America’s Next Top Model’ and ‘Britain’s Next Top Model’ in March-April 2013. These programmes were found to be in violation of Indian Broadcasting Foundation’s (IBF) Self-Regulatory Guidelines.”

     

    The Council found that the shows in question are violative of Clauses (a), (d) and (k) of the ‘Programme Code’. In addition to this, the shows are also violative of ‘Theme 2: Sex, Obscenity and Nudity’ of IBF’s Self-Regulatory Guidelines. Furthermore, the shows are also violative of Clauses a) to e) of Category ‘G’ Programmes for unrestricted viewing and/or under parental guidance as well as Clauses a) to e) of Category ‘R’ Programmes. Repeated complaints have been received about the gross contents of these shows in the past.

     

    It was brought to the Council’s notice that on 19 July 2013, the IBF Board of Directors has conferred powers on BCCC to levy Financial Penalty on a Channel, subject to a maximum of Rs 30 lakh.

  • BCCC asks TV channels to be content sensitive to minorities in their reports

    BCCC asks TV channels to be content sensitive to minorities in their reports

    NEW DELHI: The Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) has said TV Channels must rely upon its discretion while depicting any content that leads to the stereotyping of minorities.

     

    While reiterating that it wanted to ‘avoid being a pre-censoring agency or intrude upon the freedom of media’, the Council said channels should approach content of sensitivity to the minorities with caution and, when necessary, ensure that any such depiction is preceded by a declaration that it is a work of fiction and bears no resemblance to any community, caste or creed.

     

    Addressing issues and complaints regarding portrayal of content sensitive to the minorities in various TV programmes, it said ‘due diligence should be adopted to ensure that an entire community is not projected as fanatic, intolerant or criminal.’

     

    ‘The objective is to create an atmosphere congenial to communal harmony, peace and amity without telecasting content that hurts the sentiments of communities and religious groups,’ it added.

  • BCCC advises TV channels against showing acid attacks

    BCCC advises TV channels against showing acid attacks

    NEW DELHI: The Broadcast Content Complaints Council (BCCC) has advised all television channels to be ‘extremely sensitive to the excruciating physical and psychological agony of acid attack victims’ and ‘mitigate the overwhelming implications of any such depiction’ in their reports.

     

    In an advisory sent to TV channels, the BCCC has said it is time broadcasters were also sensitised against showing acid attacks.

     

    ‘This is even more pertinent for various crime-based programmes since these shows often depict an acid attack case in some detail through the dramatised version of a real incident’, the advisory said.

     

    It said it had received several complaints relating to content that depicts acid attacks in TV programmes. In almost all cases, the targets are women and girls.

     

    The Council considers acid attacks to be ‘among the most heinous of crimes with traumatic, irreversible physical and psychological consequences to the victim’.

     

    The Supreme Court has taken cognisance of the growing number of acid attacks in India and directed the State to frame and implement most stringent rules to regulate the sale of acid and other corrosive substances.

  • Broadcast Content Complaints Council warns Kids TV channels

    Broadcast Content Complaints Council warns Kids TV channels

    MUMBAI: Kids TV channels in India had better watch out. The Broadcast Content Complaints Council (BCCC) has sent out a warning to members of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation cautioning them to be more circusmpect about the programming they air on their channels.

    In an advisory to its members the BCCC chairperson justice AP Shah has stated that ”while the BCCC wishes to avoid being a censoring agency, it advises all IBF member channels, particularly children’s/cartoon channels, to be more cautious in the selection of the content shown, considering the impressionable minds of their target viewers.The emphasis should be on the “best interest of the child”.”
     
    The letter from BCCC says that it has received several complaints regarding the telecast of content on channels meant for children, including cartoon channels.

    The complaints have broadly been about:

    *Telecast of “objectionable” content, visuals, theme, animation and/or use of “inappropriate” language in some programmes aired on children’s/cartoon channels. This includes foreign cartoon shows and their translated/adapted versions.

    * Telecast of films/movie clips classified as UA, including horror/action films, on children’s/cartoon channels.

    * Telecast of “objectionable” promos of programmes meant for more mature viewers on children’s/cartoon channels.
    The BCCC has acknowledged that it has taken note “of the contention of some broadcasters that there is no separate classification of channels as those meant exclusively for children and, therefore, there can be no additional restraint on the telecast of content, even if it is meant largely for adult viewers.

    The Council, however, is of the opinion that as a matter of fact, some channels consider children to be their principal target viewers. Consequently, it is children who overwhelmingly watch these channels and unsuspecting parents allow them easy access to programmes aired on such channels.”

  • Soni ok to all party meeting on offending ads

    Soni ok to all party meeting on offending ads

    NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni today agreed to a suggestion by former I&B minister and leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the issue of obscene and objectionable advertisements and commodification of women.

    However, she said in answer to a question that a Group of Ministers had been asked to go into this issue and any meeting should be held after the GoM comes to some conclusion.

    The GoM had also been asked to study the suggestion for giving more teeth to the Press Council of India to take action against offending newspapers which included cases of paid news.

    Meanwhile, she said the Advertising Standards Council of India which was a self-regulatory body of advertisers which dealt with content issues, had suggested to the government that some advertisements could be permitted after 11 pm and this issue was under consideration of the Government. This is a recommendation relating to certain advertisements of ‘Fast Track’, ‘Wild Stone Deo’ and ‘Tata Docomo’ about which the Government had received complaints and forwarded them to Asci.

    She said in reply to a supplementary question that the government had drawn up plans for a regulatory body and a bill in this connection was already uploaded on the Ministry’s website. “While the Ministry retains the power to take a TV channel off the Regulatory Act, we are trying to give self-regulation a chance to succeed in this country,” she added.

    Referring to self-regulation, she said the Asci had drawn up a Code about content and was taking action against offending television channels, while the Press Council of India was going into complaints against the print media.

    In the main reply, the Minister said a total of 21 complaints against advertisements on television channels and four in the print media had been heard in the last one year. In the case of the electronic media, most of the complaints were forwarded to the Asci.

    On a question about the self-regulatory body Broadcasting Content Complaints Council set up by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation for general entertainment channels, she said a total of 777 complaints had been received since the BCCC began running a scroll in this regard in all channels. Of these, 104 complaints were upheld and a solution was found in the case of 84 others.

    Referring to the Ministry, she said ads had been withdrawn or corrected in 85 of the 105 cases where notices were sent on objectionable advertisements in the past few years. “We have had success of over 85 per cent in removing such ads”, she said.

    At the outset, Soni agreed that the portrayal of women in advertisements has been attracting the attention of not only media critics, civil society, women group, NGOs, Members of Parliament and, in fact, the society as a whole. “It is for this reason that the Government of India, ever since Independence, has formulated laws. I have at least 15 laws which have been formulated from time to time”.

    She referred to the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act as well as the Inter-Ministerial Committee which heard complaints.