TV News

Starting July 1st, the classic and iconoclastic comedy series South Park may finally have one streaming home following years of a divided catalog and many millions of dollars in legal fees. Paramount appears ready to consolidate the catalog of their most prized comedy property on Paramount+, starting 1st July

However entertainment critic ArtieReviews reported that American subscribers will find that a dozen additional episodes have been added to the infamous South Park ban list.

Even with all the corporate acrimony between South Park's two streaming homes over the last five years, fans with deep pockets have still been able to stream almost every episode of South Park so long as they had subscriptions to both Max and Paramount+. The only banned South Park episodes that are currently unavailable to stream through any legal means are Super Best Friends, Cartoon Wars Parts I and II, 200 and 201 , all of which featured depictions of the religious character Mohammed.

While ArtieReviews' ban list is yet-unconfirmed by Paramount itself, all of the episodes he listed are entries in the South Park catalog that are unavailable to stream on Paramount+ in non-U.S. markets where the company has retained full streaming control. Once Paramount Global regains a complete South Park streaming catalog, ArtieReviews believes that they will institute their international ban list.

The likely list of banned titles is:

• Season 1 Episode 4: Big Gay Al's Big Boat Ride
• Season 2 Episode 1: Terrance And Phillip In Not Without My Anus
• Season 4 Episode 14: Pip/Great Expectations
• Season 5 Episode 3: Super Best Friends
• Season 6 Episode 2: Jared Has Aides
• Season 6 Episode 7: Simpsons Did It
• Season 7 Episode 1: Cancelled
• Season 8 Episode 3: Passion Of The Jew
• Season 8 Episode 4: You Got F'd In The A
• Season 9 Episode 8: Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow
• Season 9 Episode 12: Trapped In The Closet
• Season 10 Episode 3/4 Cartoon Wars 1/2
• Season 14 Episode 5/6 200/201
• Season 16 Episode 4 Jewpacabra
• Season 17 Episode 6 Ginger Cow

Ofcom has fined GB News Limited for breaching the special impartiality requirements in the programme People's Forum: The Prime Minist er broadcast on 12 February 2024. Ofcom writes:

The programme featured the then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, in a question-and-answer session with a studio audience about the Government's policies and performance. Our Breach Decision published on 20 May 2024 found this programme failed to maintain due impartiality on a matter of major political controversy and a major matter of current public policy, and due impartiality was not preserved through clearly linked and timely programmes, in breach of Rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code .

Given the seriousness and repeated nature of the breach of these rules, Ofcom has imposed a financial penalty of 2£100,000 on GB News Limited and also directed the Licensee to broadcast a statement of our findings in this case, on a date and in a form to be determined by Ofcom.

GB News is challenging the Breach Decision by judicial review, which we are defending. Ofcom will not enforce this sanction decision until those proceedings are concluded.

A new ITV comedy show titled Piglets has raised the heckles of the police.

The new series, which is set to start airing on July 20, follows the experiences of a group of trainee officers as they start prepping to join the police force.

The Police Federation issued a statement hitting out at the name of the series, with the Acting Chair calling it disgusting. Tiffany Lynch, Acting National Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said:

The new ITV show titled Piglets is highly offensive to police officers risking their lives to protect the public every day by providing an emergency service. It is a disgusting choice of language to use for the title of a TV programme. Our colleagues are working hard and keeping people safe under relentless negative pressure at the moment, insulting our new in service officers is unhelpful.

We should not be put at further risk for viewing numbers, our officers deserve respect, not humiliation for the job they are undertaking. It is actually incredibly dangerous to incite more negativity and misinformation against a public sector service that's already under so much pressure.

Despite the criticsim ITV has stood strong in their decision to air the series under the title Piglets, emphasizing that the show is fictional. A spokesperson told GB News:

Piglets is a fictional new comedy about a police training academy and the title is not intended to cause any offence, it's a comedic and endearing play on words to emphasise the innocence and youth of our young trainees.

The Police Federation have made clear that they intend to reach out to Ofcom and make an official complaint about the comedy show.

Ofcom wrote:

People's Forum: The Prime Minister
GB News, 12 February 2024, 20:00

Ofcom received 547 complaints about this live, hour-long current affairs programme which featured the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, in a question-and-answer session with a studio audience about the Government's policies and performance, in the context of the forthcoming UK General Election.

We considered that this constituted a matter of major political controversy and a major matter relating to current public policy. When covering major matters, all Ofcom licensees must comply with the heightened special impartiality requirements in the Code. These rules require broadcasters to include and give due weight to an appropriately wide range of significant views within a programme or in clearly linked and timely programmes.

Ofcom had no issue with this programme's format in principle. Broadcasters have freedom to decide the editorial approach of their programmes as long as they comply with the Code. We took into account factors such as: the audience's questions to the Prime Minister; his responses; the Presenter's contribution; and whether due impartiality was preserved through clearly linked and timely programmes. In this case:

• While some of the audience's questions provided some challenge to, and criticism of, the Government's policies and performance, audience members were not able to challenge the Prime Minister's responses and the Presenter did not do this to any meaningful extent.

• The Prime Minister was able to set out some future policies that his Government planned to implement, if re-elected in the forthcoming UK General Election. Neither the audience or the Presenter challenged or otherwise referred to significant alternative views on these.

• The Prime Minister criticised aspects of the Labour Party's policies and performance. While politicians are of course able to do this in programmes, licensees must ensure that due impartiality is preserved. Neither the Labour Party's views or positions on those issues, or any other significant views on those issues were included in the programme or given due weight.

• The Licensee did not, and was not able to, include a reference in the programme to an agreed future programme in which an appropriately wide range of significant views on the major matter would be presented and given due weight.

We found that an appropriately wide range of significant viewpoints was not presented and given due weight in this case. As a result, Rishi Sunak had a mostly uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his Government in a period preceding a UK General Election.

GB News failed to preserve due impartiality, in breach of Rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Code. Our decision is that this breach was serious and repeated.

We will therefore consider this breach for the imposition of a statutory sanction

Update: GB News to challege Ofcom's censorship in the courts

21st May 2024. See article from pressgazette.co.uk

A GB News spokesperson responded to the Ofcom censorship:

GB News has begun the formal legal process of challenging recent Ofcom decisions which go against journalists' and broadcasters' rights to make their own editorial judgements in line with the law and which also go against Ofcom's own rules.

Ofcom is obliged by law to uphold freedom of expression. Ofcom is also obliged to apply its rules fairly and lawfully. We believe that, for some time now, Ofcom has been operating in the exact opposite manner.

We cannot allow freedom of expression and media freedom to be trampled on in this way.

Freedom of the press is a civil right established by the British in the seventeenth century with the abolition of censorship and licensing of the printing press.

We refuse to stand by and allow this right to be threatened. As the People's Channel we champion this freedom; for our viewers, for our listeners, for everyone in the United Kingdom.

Ofsite Comment: Ofcom's contempt for GB News viewers

21st May 2024. See article from spiked-online.com by Andrew Tettenborn

How, you might ask, could a show featuring independently selected, non-aligned voters directly quizzing an embattled PM breach impartiality rules? The Ofcom ruling makes no sense, at least if you look at it from the perspective of the average, level-headed man or woman in the street. But then, the apparatchiks who run Ofcom are neither particularly level-headed nor remotely reflective of the average voter.

See article from spiked-online.com

Ofsite Comment: The real reason Ofcom has gone after GB News

27th May 2024. See article from spectator.co.uk by Toby Young