OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has ruled that ARTV did not comply with the “watershed hour clause” when it broadcast an NFB documentary about rape at 7:30 p.m. (Broadcasting Decision 2008-81).
The regulator stated it expected ARTV to ensure that in the future all programs it broadcast containing scenes of explicit violence or dealing with other subjects intended for an adult audience were scheduled after 9 p.m., as called for by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Voluntary code regarding violence in television programming. ARTV is required to meet that standard as a condition of its licence.
The CRTC said it would review ARTV’s compliance with this condition at the time of its licence renewal.
ARTV stated that in airing the documentary Mourir a tue-tete it had included the required notifications for the broadcast of such films i.e. the “13+” icon at the beginning of the film and after every commercial break. It referred to the Regie de cinema’s classification system (13+) to justify its earlier broadcast time.
The CRTC, however, concluded that broadcasters are required to classify their own programming using as a guide the classification systems, but that they “cannot simply rely on film classification systems to determine whether a program is suitable for television broadcast.”
In its decision, the regulator noted that “the value of this docudrama is not being called into question; the film clearly addresses the serious social nature of rape. The Commission is not disputing the licensee’s choice or right to air this film but rather its adherence to the watershed hour clause that seeks to limit, to the period between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. the broadcast of explicit scenes of violence intended for adult audiences, including scenes of violent sexual assault.”
