OTTAWA – TV5’s broadcast of the documentary Le sexe autour du monde, which depicted sexual acts, was aired at the right time and was not exploitative, but violated the Viewer Advisory provision for not alerting audiences to its sexual content ruled The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC).
The CBSC found the station in violation of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Code of Ethics for failing to mention the sexual content of the program in the viewer advisories, but it had no problem with the content or scheduling of the program.
Le sexe autour du monde is a documentary series that explores sexual practices and values around the world. The March 27 episode focussed on Japan and contained discussions and images of nudity and sexual activity. TV5 provided a viewer advisory indicating simply that the program was intended for an adult audience.
TV5 broadcast the program at 9:00 pm ET, but a viewer in Alberta saw it at 7:00 pm MT. The viewer complained that the content was too sexually explicit for that hour and that it was degrading to women.
The CBSC’s Quebec Regional Panel examined the complaint under relevant provisions of the CAB Equitable Portrayal Code and Code of Ethics. The panel concluded that the content did not exploit or degrade anyone because the codes do not prohibit the depiction of sexual activity between consenting adults. The panel also had no problem with the scheduling of the program because TV5 respected the 9:00 pm Watershed hour in the time zone in which its signal originates as required by the Code of Ethics. It did, however, find a breach of the Viewer Advisory provision because TV5 failed to alert viewers specifically to the program’s sexual content.
