BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

Summary  

[This summary does not form part of the decision.]

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that a promo for comedy series Colin from Accounts which included a brief reference to one character’s ‘move,’ ‘the nipple flash,’ breached the children’s interests standard. The Authority found nothing in the promo was inappropriate for, or likely to adversely affect, children; it was broadcast during an unclassified news programme that routinely includes content potentially unsuitable for children, meaning adult supervision was expected; there was no explicit nudity or sexual content in the promo; and the reference was fleeting and not outside audience expectations.

Not Upheld: Children’s Interests

The broadcast

[1]  A promo for the comedy series Colin from Accounts screened on 7 September 2024 during 1News at 6.37pm, advertising the series was available to stream online on TVNZ+. The promo included a brief exchange between three characters sitting around a table:

Male character: Come on Ash, you must have some moves?

Ash: Just one – the nipple flash.

Gordon: That’s not really a move though, that just happened one time.

Ash: Did it…?

[2]  The promo lasted 29 seconds, with the ‘nipple flash’ reference lasting two seconds. The remainder of the promo centred around whether Ash was ready to ‘settle down’ with Gordon.

The complaint

[3]  Arthur Towgood complained that the broadcast breached the children’s interests standard of the Code of Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand, as he considered the reference in the advertisement was ‘sexually provocative’ and ‘sending the wrong message to our vulnerable children.’ On referral to the Authority, he also alleged it was ‘teaching our children that it is okay to expose their private parts for fun,’ and the broadcaster was ‘well aware of the potential dangerous consequences.’  

The broadcaster’s response

[4]  In a detailed response, TVNZ did not uphold the complaint for the following reasons:

• The promo screened during 1News which is aimed at an adult audience.
• The Authority has acknowledged ‘that children of a vulnerable age are unlikely to watch the news unattended,’¹ and ‘adult supervision is expected as these programmes are likely to contain material that is inappropriate for children.’²
• News and current affairs broadcasts often discuss current events including serious crime such as murder, child abuse, rape, terror attacks and natural disasters of a large scale where people are killed; there is an expectation news programmes may contain footage of serious crime and disasters.
• On the day of this broadcast, 1News included items about the 15 March Mosque attacks, Mpox cases, the shooting to death of an 18-year-old in Auckland, Donald Trump’s hush money trial regarding alleged payment to an adult film actress to silence her about a ‘sexual encounter’, and deaths from famine in the Sudan. All items were broadcast with relevant visuals.
• TVNZ did not agree that the brief comment about a ‘nipple flash’ in the promo was ‘inappropriate or surprising in the context of these stories.’
• No nudity or other sexualised material was included and the term ‘nipple flash’ was not explained in the promo.
• The content of the promo was consistent with the content of the 6pm news bulletin.
• Parents would not be surprised by the brief discussion in the promo (given the content of the news broadcast) and would be able to provide support and advice to child viewers on this and the news bulletin as required.

The standard

[5]  The children’s interests standard³ requires broadcasters to ensure children can be protected from broadcasts which might adversely affect them during children’s normally accepted viewing times – usually up until 8.30pm.⁴

[6]  Material likely to be considered under this standard includes violent or sexual content or themes, offensive language, social or domestic friction and dangerous, antisocial, or illegal behaviour where such material is outside the expectations of the programme’s classification.⁵

[7]  Guidelines to the standards relating to the broadcast of promos for programmes require them to comply with the classification of the programme during which they screen (the ‘host programme’).⁶ Extra care should be taken in scheduling promos for adult programmes (M, 16 or 18) during children’s normally accepted viewing times, so that the promo’s themes and content are not inappropriate for the programme classification.⁷

Our analysis

[8]  We have watched a recording of the promo that was broadcast, and read the correspondence listed in the Appendix.

[9]  Our task in considering any complaint, is to weigh up the right to freedom of expression against any harm potentially caused by the broadcast. We may only intervene and uphold a complaint where the level of actual or potential harm justifies placing a reasonable limit on the right to freedom of expression.⁸

[10]  Context is an important consideration when assessing alleged harm under the children’s interests standard. The broadcaster in its decision has outlined in detail, relevant contextual factors in this case which support finding the promo did not carry the potential to adversely affect child viewers and was not outside expectations of the timeslot or the host programme, 1News – an unclassified news programme that routinely includes material that may be unsuitable for children. As noted by the broadcaster, this means adult supervision was expected at this time, and children were unlikely to be watching unsupervised.

[11]  For similar reasons, we are also satisfied that nothing in the promo was inappropriate for, or unexpected, in this timeslot, nor likely to adversely affect children. Although on TVNZ+, episodes of Colin from Accounts are rated ‘16L’ (people under 16 years should not view⁹), this promo was appropriately edited for the timeslot. It did not contain any nudity, sexual material, explicit language, or other content inappropriate for children under the supervision of an adult. We do not agree it was ‘sexually provocative’ or likely to encourage young people to ‘expose their private parts for fun.’ The fleeting verbal reference to ‘the nipple flash’ was innocuous in the context and not explained further (although viewers familiar with the series may have recognised it as a reference to the scene in which the two main characters first met).

[12]  Accordingly, we find no breach of the children’s interests standard or any harm outweighing freedom of expression.

For these reasons, the Authority does not uphold the complaint.

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Susie Staley
Chair
20 November 2024    

Appendix

The correspondence listed below was received and considered by the Authority when it determined this complaint:

1  Towgood’s complaint to TVNZ – 9 September 2024

2  TVNZ’s decision on the complaint – 3 October 2024

3  Towgood’s referral to the Authority – 3 October 2024

4  TVNZ’s confirmation of no further comments – 18 October 2024

¹ Barker and Television New Zealand Ltd, Decision No. 2000-033
² Bracey and Ee and Television New Zealand Ltd, Decision No. 2013-084
³ Standard 2, Code of Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand
⁴ Guideline 2.1
⁵ Guideline 2.2
⁶ Guideline 1.6
⁷ Guideline 1.16
⁸ Introduction, Code of Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand, page 4
⁹ Guideline 1.4