OTTAWA — As a discretionary service, several of Starz’s broadcasts containing coarse language, sexual content and violence which aired during afternoon time slots in December 2020 and January 2021 violated the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Code of Ethics and Violence Code, says a decision released today by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC).
The broadcasts at issue were episodes of the drama series High Fidelity and Ramy, and the comedy movie The Right Kind of Wrong on Starz 1, as well as the comedy movies The Hangover and Bridesmaids on Starz 2.
The CBSC concluded all of the broadcasts should not have aired before 9 p.m. and some of the viewer advisories on the broadcasts did not mention key elements of the programs, such as sexual content and violence.
In response to a viewer complaint, Starz, which in Canada is a brand owned by Bell Media, argued it was a “discretionary pay service” only available to subscribers who had specifically requested it. However, the CBSC’s English-language panel pointed out the CRTC changed Starz’s licence category in 2017 from a “pay” service to a “discretionary” service, which requires it to adhere to the CAB’s codes of standards.
Starz 1 and Starz 2 are now required to: announce the CBSC’s decision, in audio and video format, once during prime time within three days following the release of this decision and once more within seven days following the decision during the time period in which the programs were broadcast, but not on the same day as the first mandated announcement; within 14 days following the broadcasts of the announcements, to provide written confirmation of the airing of the statements to the complainant who filed the ruling request; and at that time, to provide the CBSC with a copy of that written confirmation and with air check copies of the broadcasts of the announcements which must be made by Starz 1 and Starz 2.
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