Northern Birds SportXXX1, 12 March 2011, 21:30 to 22:00 and 13 March 2011, 01:00 to 01.20
Asian Babes, Live XXXBabes, 14 March 2011, 00:00
Northern Birds and Asian Babes are free to air babe channels. The female presenter dress and behave in a
sexually provocative way while encouraging viewers to contact premium rate phone numbers.
The licences for both the Northern Birds and Live XXX Babes services are held by Satellite Entertainment Ltd. SEL is responsible for the compliance of the
Asian Babes content broadcast on the LiveXXXBabes service.
Ofcom received two complaints about content broadcast on Northern Birds and Live XXX Babes. The complainants were concerned about sexual content capable of causing offence.
On
viewing the recordings provided by the Licensee, Ofcom noted that the quality was very poor and was of the view that it was not of broadcast quality.
Ofcom considered that this material raised issues under BCAP Code Rule 4.2 which states:
Advertisements must not cause serious or widespread offence against generally accepted moral, social or cultural standards.
In addition, Condition 11 of the Television Licensable Content
Service (TLCS) licence states:
… the Licensee shall: make and retain or arrange for the retention of a recording in sound and vision of every programme included in the Licensed Service for a period of 60 days from
the date of its inclusion therein; and, in addition, the TLCS Guidance Notes for Licence Applicants requires the Licensee to ensure: recordings must be of a standard and in a format which allows Ofcom to view the material as broadcast 2
Ofcom published detailed Guidance on the advertising of telecommunications-based sexual entertainment services eg:
- at no time broadcast invasive shots of presenters' bodies. Ofcom cautions against physically intrusive, intimate shots of any duration; and against less intrusive shots that may become unacceptable by virtue of their being
prolonged; and
- at no time broadcast anal, labial or genital areas or broadcast images of presenters touching their genital or anal areas either with their hand or an object
Ofcom Decision: Northern Birds, SportXXX1
Ofcom noted that at 21:30, when the presenter was positioned with her legs open to the camera, her labia were visible. This was because the item of clothing worn consisted only of a
very thin strip of fabric. In addition, during the broadcast from 21:30, when the presenter thrust her buttocks to camera, she revealed further labial detail and also her anal area.
Ofcom also noted that during the material broadcast at 21:30,
whilst the presenter was positioned with her legs open to camera revealing her labia, she stroked and rubbed her genital area with her hand so as to mime masturbation. These images were shown for prolonged periods of time.
During the later
broadcast at 01:00, Ofcom noted that the presenter was initially naked and used her hand to cover her genital and anal area whilst she adopted various sexual positions. Whilst covering her genital area, she used her hand to apply firm pressure on her
genitals as she thrust her hips backwards and forwards to mime masturbation. Ofcom was particularly concerned that later images of the presenter massaging her genital area and pulling the thin strip of fabric tightly over her vagina to reveal her labia
were extremely intrusive, filling the entire screen for prolonged periods of time.
In Ofcom's view the sexual images included in these broadcasts were strong and capable of causing offence. In both cases the broadcasts included material that is
explicitly prohibited under Ofcom's guidance, as set out above. Both broadcasts therefore contained material which raised issues under BCAP Code Rule 4.2.
Specifically, this material should not have been broadcast within the context of adult chat
advertisements that were freely available without mandatory restricted access. Therefore, Ofcom concluded that the material breached Rule 4.2 of the BCAP Code
Ofcom Decision: Asian Babes, Live XXX Babes
Ofcom noted that
one of the presenters, who was wearing a black thong, lay on her side and opened her legs full to camera. In this position she stroked and lightly massaged her genital area to mime masturbation and revealed labial and anal detail. Whilst positioned with
her buttocks to camera, the presenter thrust her body vigorously so as to mime sexual intercourse and revealed anal detail. These positions were adopted for prolonged periods of time.
In Ofcom's view the sexual images included in these broadcasts
were strong and capable of causing offence. This material should not have been broadcast within the context of adult chat advertisements that were freely available without mandatory restricted access. Therefore, Ofcom concluded that the material
breached Rule 4.2 of the BCAP Code.
Ofcom considers that these breaches of the BCAP Code are serious and significant. Ofcom is also concerned that the Licensee did not provide to Ofcom broadcast quality recordings. Consequently, these breaches
will be held on the Licensee's compliance record and we will consider further regulatory action should further similar breaches be recorded.