Decision – Loveworld Limited
| Published date | 06 October 2021 |
Sanction 146 (21)
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Sanction: Decision by Ofcom
Decision: Sanction: to be imposed on Loveworld Limited (“LL”)
For material broadcast on Loveworld Television Network (“Loveworld”) on 11 of Febr uary and 12
February 20211.
Ofcom’s Sanction Decision against: Loveworld Limited (the “Licensee”) in respect of its service
Loveworld UK (TLCS000787BA/1).
For: Breach of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code (the “Code”)2:
Rule 2.1: “Generally accepted standards must be applied to
the contents of television and radio services[…] so as to
provide adequate protection for members of the public
from the inclusion in such services of harmful and/or
offensive material”.
Rule 2.2: “Factual programmes or items or portrayals of
factual matters must not materially
mislead the audience”.
Decision: To impose a financial penalty (payable to HM Paymaster
General) of £25,000
1 See Ofcom Broadcast and on Demand Bulletin, 19 April 2021 (“the Breach Decision”).
2 See Ofcom Broadcasting Code
Sanction 146 (21)
2
Executive Summary
1. Loveworld is a religious television channel broadcast on satellite providing a service in the UK
from an Evangelical Christian denomination with a global network of churches 3. The Licence for
the Loveworld service is held by Loveworld Limited (“LL” or “the Licensee”).
2. On 11 February 2021 at 17:00 and 12 February 2021 at 11:00, the licensee broadcast two
episodes of the programme called Full Disclosure which were each one-hour long.
3. Full Disclosure is a current affairs programme featuring two presenters discussing topical news
stories.
The Breach Decision
4. In Ofcom’s Decision (“the Breach Decision”) published on 19 April 2021 in Issue 424 of the
Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin4, Ofcom f ound, following monitoring, that the programmes
contained materially misleading statements about the Coronavirus pa ndemic and vaccine
rollout, and that these statements had the potential to cause s ignificant harm without providing
adequate protection to viewers, in breach of Rules 2.1 and 2.2 of the Code.
5. The Breach Decision sets out specifically the broadcast material that was i n breach, along with
reasoning as to why the material had breached the applicable r ules of the Code.
6. Ofcom is prioritising cases relating to the Coronavirus which could cause potential harm to
audiences. As set out in our published guidance for broa dcasters5, this could include: health
claims related to the virus which may be harmful; medical advice which may be harmful; and
inaccuracy or material misleadingness in programmes in relatio n to the virus or public policy
regarding it.
7. Given this prioritisation we informed LL that we considered it was appropriate for us to d epart
from our normal published procedures to expedite the invest igation. When we concluded our
investigation, given the serious nature of the breaches in this case, and in order to remedy the
potential harm caused as quickly as possible, Ofcom directed the L icensee to broadcast a
summary of Ofcom’s Decision on 29 April at 11:00 and on 30 April at 11:00.
8. Ofcom put the Licensee on notice that it considered these breaches to be seri ous and would be
considering whether to impose any further sanction in addi tion to the Direction. An Ofcom
Sanctions Panel decided that, given the severity of the breaches and the Licensee’s recent
compliance history, it would be appropriate to consider the imposition o f a further sanction.
This document sets out Ofcom’s Decision for the conside ration of a further sanction.
The Sanction Decision
9. In accordance with Ofcom’s Procedures for the consideration of st atutory sanctions in breaches
of broadcast licences (the “Sanctions Procedures ”6), Ofcom considered whether the Code
breach was serious, deliberate, reckless or repeated so as to warrant the imposition of a further
sanction on the Licensee in this case.
10. This paper sets out Ofcom’s Decision on the type and level of sa nction to be imposed on the
Licensee, taking into account all the relevant material in this case and Of com’s Penalty
Guidelines7.
3 The Christian denomination, Loveworld Incorporated (also known as Christ Embassy) was founded by Pastor
Chris Oyakhilome who is also its president. It runs seven television channels globally.
4 See footnote 1.
5 See Broadcast standards during the coronavirus pandemic
6 See Ofcom’s Sanctions Procedures.
7 See footnote 3
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