OTTAWA – A French-language TV talk show that included interviews with a sexologist and a swinger-porn actor was not explicit enough to violate any broadcast codes, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) has determined.
The CBSC reviewed an episode of La belle gang that aired on Canal Vie on November 8, 2017 at 6:00 PM. The talk show’s topic that day was age and sexuality, and the episode contained segments including a sexologist showing sex toys, adolescents discussing their views on sex, a comedienne talking about masturbation, and a swinger-porn actor who talked about making pornographic movies with his wife.
A viewer complained about the content of the episode, especially the segment about the swinger-porn actor, because it included a blurred clip of him and his wife on the set of a porn movie in which they discussed how to get the best angle of the sexual activity.
The viewer wrote that her children had seen the segment and that such content was not appropriate for a 6:00 PM timeslot. The broadcaster replied that the content was not explicit and pointed out that it had aired viewer advisories.
The CBSC’s French-Language Panel examined the complaint under the CAB Code of Ethics Clause 10 which states that sexually explicit content intended for adult audiences shall not be broadcast before 9:00 PM, and Clause 11 which requires programs to carry detailed viewer advisories if necessary.
The majority of the Panel concluded that there were undeniably sexual conversations in the program, but that they were not so explicit as to constitute material “intended exclusively for adults”. Canal Vie was thus permitted to broadcast the episode at any time of day.
With respect to the viewer advisories, the Panel determined that the station could have worded them better to alert viewers to the sexual discussions, but found that they were adequate and did not breach the code. The Panel also noted that, being a talk show, La belle gang was technically exempt from classification, but Canal Vie voluntarily provided a G rating.
