Adjudication of Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee - Kiss FM Radio Limited, in respect of its service Kiss 100FM
| Published date | 20 June 2006 |
| Issuer | Office of Communications |
1 Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee
Consideration of Sanction
against Kiss FM Radio Limited, in respect of its service
Kiss 100FM
(1) An upheld fairness and privacy complaint
For
• under Ofcom’s (ex-Broadcasting Standards
Commission) Fairness and Privacy Code of
Guidance (and taking into account another
similar upheld complaint)
(2) Standards breaches of
• Section 1.2(b) (protection of Younger
Listeners) of Ofcom’s (ex-Radio Authority)
Programme Code
• Section 3.4.1 (‘wind-ups’) of Ofcom’s (ex-
Radio Authority) Programme Code
• Rule 7.1 (fairness) of Ofcom’s
Broadcasting Code: Section Seven:
Fairness
• Rule 8.1 (privacy) of Ofcom’s Broadcasting
Code: Section Eight: Privacy
• Rule 1.3 (appropriate scheduling) of
Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code: Section One:
Protecting the Under-Eighteens
• Rule 1.5 (when children are particularly
likely to be listening) of Ofcom’s
Broadcasting Code: Section One:
Protecting the Under-Eighteens
• Rule 1.14 (most offensive language) of
Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code: Section One:
Protecting the Under-Eighteens; and
• Rule 1.17 (discussion of sexual behaviour)
of Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code: Section
One: Protecting the Under-Eighteens
(see Annex 1 for full Code extracts)
1
Fairness and Privacy: 5 July 2005 (taking into account
29 July 2005)
On
Standards: 27 and 28 April 2005, 13 and 21 June
2005, 19 and 21 September 2005 and 15 November
2005
In respect of the upheld fairness and privacy
complaint (taking into account another similar
complaint): £75,000
Decision to Fine
standards breaches: £100,000
In aggregate: £175,000
Summary
For the reasons set out in full in the Decision, the Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee
found as follows:
(1) Kiss FM Radio Limited (“the Licensee” or “the broadcaster”) is licensed by Ofcom to
run the service known as Kiss 100FM (“Kiss 100”).
(2) Ofcom received 10 complaints about Kiss 100’s output broadcast on 27 and 28 April
2005, 13 and 21 June 2005, 5 and 29 July 2005, 19 and 21 September 2005, and 15
November 2005. In summary two of the complaints (one of which has been
published previously) concerned two so-called “wind-up” or prank calls in which the
broadcaster failed to seek consent from the participants who were identifiable. Both
items were unfair to the ‘victims’ and unwarrantably infringed their privacy in both the
making and the broadcast of the item. Eight of the complaints concerned the
scheduling of inappropriate material, such as offensive language and sexual content
which was broadcast at breakfast time when children are likely to be listening.
(3) The above upheld fairness and privacy complaints and breaches of the standards
codes were believed to be serious and repeated. The fairness and privacy
contravention of 5 July 2005 was also considered to be very serious in its own right.
The Licensee was invited to attend before the Content Sanctions Committee (“the
Committee”) to give oral representations. It appeared (by its managing director and
representatives of its parent company (Emap Radio Limited)) before the Committee
at its meeting on 5 June 2006.
Fairness and Privacy Complaint (see full adjudication at Annex 2)
(4) The programme telephoned a member of public (the complainant, “Mr R” who
wishes to remain anonymous) who had inadvertently left his telephone number on
the presenter’s (“Streetboy”) voice mail, believing it to be his Human Resources
officer’s voice mail. Streetboy then returned Mr R’s call posing as the Human
Resources officer. Mr R had called his Human Resources officer in the hope of
discussing redeployment opportunities in the company following his redundancy. The
telephone call was recorded and broadcast on air without the complainant’s
permission (a breach of Ofcom’s (ex-Radio Authority) Programme Code).
2
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