OTTAWA – While the airing of actual images from a murder scene did not exploit the victims when HBO Canada broadcast the documentary film Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, it did violate time of day restrictions ruled the CBSC in its decision. This is the first time a CBSC adjudicating panel has examined a complaint about a pay television broadcast since it began administering the Pay TV Codes in September 2008.
Paradise Lost 3 is the third in a series of feature-length documentary films about three adolescent males who were convicted of murdering three eight-year-old boys in Arkansas in the 1990s. The film includes video footage of the boys’ dead bodies taken at the time of their discovery as well as photographs and verbal descriptions of the state of the bodies. HBO Canada broadcast the film at 3:15 pm on May 30, 2012 with an 18A rating and a viewer advisory.
The CBSC received a complaint from a viewer who argued that the inclusion of the images was exploitative and disrespectful towards the murder victims. HBO Canada pointed out that it is a discretionary premium pay service that provides unedited films, including those that are provocative and controversial. The station wrote that it had re-evaluated the scheduling of the film and would only air it between 9:00 pm and 6:00 am in future.
In its decision the panel noted that despite the highly discretionary nature of pay television channels, the “Codes nevertheless contain provisions related to the time of day at which certain types of programming should be scheduled. Section E(1)(a) of the Pay TV Programming Code states that certain mature material should not be broadcast outside of the hours 9:00 pm to 6:00 am and Article 3.0 of the Pay TV Violence Code sets out that same requirement with respect to scenes of violence intended for adult audiences.”
The CBSC’s National Specialty Services Panel examined the complaint under the Pay TV Programming Code and the Pay TV Violence Code. The panel concluded that the images of the dead bodies were disturbing, but demonstrated the severity of the crimes and therefore were not exploitative or gratuitous. The majority of the panel concluded that due to the inclusion of the images and the overall mature theme of the film, HBO Canada should only have shown it in the late evening viewing period. Two adjudicators dissented because, in their view, there was no actual violence shown and the images were not graphic enough to necessitate a late evening time slot.
