Kiwi broadcaster in dock for airing “raunchy”, “sexually explicit” scenes

WELLINGTON - The Broadcasting Standards Authority in New Zealand has warned and fined a broadcaster 4000 dollars for airing two “raunchy” and “sexually explicit” scenes at inappropriate times.

TV3’s owner TVWorks was fined for a 3 News segment featuring numerous sex scenes from drama ‘Outrageous Fortune’, while the warning stemmed from the too-graphic opening of a crime movie.

The movie ‘We Own the Night’ was played on TV3 just after 8.30pm on May 29, and the opening scene showed a graphic scene where a female character lay on a couch and moved her hand between her legs, while a male character kissed her.

In its decision the BSA said that the opening scene clearly contained “strong adult material” as envisaged by the guideline.

“While no genitalia was visible, the sexual content in the scene…[it] was graphic, raunchy, and prolonged,” Stuff.co.nz quoted the decision as saying.

It found TVWorks breached the broadcasting standard protecting children’s interests because it showed the movie too close to adults only time.

It said the broadcaster did not adequately consider the interests of children when broadcasting the scene just two minutes after the AO watershed.

The ‘Outrageous Fortune’ item on 3 News, aired on July 13, and was deemed too explicit for its 6.35pm timeslot.

In its decision the BSA said that in its view the numerous clips of couples having sex or engaging in sexual activity went well beyond what is acceptable in a 6pm news item.

“Promoting Outrageous Fortune through the use of extensive sexual material was, in our view, neither newsworthy nor in the public interest,” it stated.

Besides the fine, TVWorks was also ordered to broadcast a summary of the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s decision relating to the item. (ANI)