Decision by Ofcom - Majestic TV Limited (Psychic Today)
| Published date | 21 June 2013 |
| Issuer | Office of Communications |
Sanction 86(13) Majestic TV Limited
1
Sanction: Decision by Ofcom
To be imposed on Majestic TV Limited
For the broadcast of three pieces of psychic advertising content between 6 May 2012
and 20 June 2012.
Consideration of sanction
against:
Majestic TV Limited (“Majestic TV” or “the
Licensee
”) in respect of its service Psychic Today
(TLCS
-788) broadcast on Sky Channel 886.
For:
Breaches of the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising
(
“the BCAP Code”) in respect of:
Rule 15.5.2:
“Advertisements for personalised
and live
services that rely on belief in
astrology, horoscopes, tarot and
derivative practices are acceptable
only on channels that are licensed
for the purpose of the promotion of
such services and are appropriately
labelled: both the advertisement and
the product or service itself must
state the product or service is for
entertainment purposes only.”
Rule 15.5.3
: “Advertising permitted under Rule
15.5 may not:
• Make claims for efficacy or
accuracy;
• Predict negative experiences or
specific events;
• Offer life-
changing advice directed
at individuals – including advice
related to health (including
pregnancy) or financial situation;
• Appeal particularly to children;
• Encourage excessive use.”
On:
Psychic Today, 6 May 2012, 23:21
Psychic Today, 2 June
2012, 23:00 to 23:15
Psychic Today, 20 June 2012, 22:30
to 22:45
Decision:
To impose a financial penalty (payable to HM
Paymaster General) of
£12,500; and
To direct the
Licensee to broadcast a statement of
Ofcom’s findings on one occasion, on a date and in
a form to be determined by Ofcom.
Sanction 86(13) Majestic TV Limited
2
Executive Summary
1. The Psychic Today service1 consists of advertising content offering psychic readings to
callers. This free to air channel is broadcast 24 hours a day on the Sky digital satellite
platform (on Sky Channel 886).2 It consists of promotions for premium rate telephone
services (“PRS”), both voice and text, by which viewers can obtain psychic readings,
and it provides a facility for viewers to pay for these by credit card. Callers can select to
be connected to a psychic off air, or to the presenter in the studio – in which case the
reading is broadcast live, subject to the psychic’s availability. The channel Psychic
Today gives different names to segments of its psychic reading advertising content
broadcast at various times, and the name of the programming broadcast in the cases
to which this sanction relates was also Psychic Today.
2. The TLCS3 licence for the Psychic Today service is held by Majestic TV Limited
(“Majestic TV”). Peripatos Limited (“Peripatos”) (a third party entity) deals with any
compliance issues in relation to the Psychic Today content output on behalf of the
Licensee.
3. On 1 September 2010 new Ofcom rules came into force with the effect that channels
and content predicated on the promotion of PRS (“participation television” or “PTV”)
from then on were treated as advertising and subject to the BCAP Code. At the same
time, the revised BCAP Code allowed PRS-based live and personalised psychic
services to be broadcast on channels licensed for that purpose (previously the BCAP
Code had prohibited such services).
4. In December 2011, Ofcom published guidance4 to broadcasters in respect of psychic
television services predicated on PRS (“the Guidance”). The Guidance states that such
services must not contain explicit and implicit claims of efficacy or accuracy.
Additionally, it provides that broadcasters should not solely rely on an onscreen
message stating the psychic material is for entertainment purposes but that this
principle should be reflected in the content as a whole.
5. In the findings published on 18 February 2013 in Broadcast Bulletin 2245 (“the
Findings”), Ofcom found that three pieces of psychic advertising content broadcast on
Psychic Today on 6 May 2012, 2 June 2012 and 20 June 2012 breached BCAP Rules
15.5.3 and 15.5.2.6
All three pieces of advertising content – breach of BCAP Rule 15.5.3
6. See http://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes/Broadcast-HTML.aspx for relevant
extracts in full of Section 15 of the BCAP Code.
1 The name of the service was changed from Psychic TV to Psychic Today in 2011.
2 The live broadcast runs every day from 9am to 3am.
3 Television licensable content service.
4 http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/broadcast/guidance/psychic-tv-guidance.pdf.
5 http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/enforcement/broadcast-bulletins/obb224/obb224.pdf.
6 This advertising content was also simultaneously broadcast on three other services: Big Deal, Sumo
TV and Fitness TV. Big Deal is broadcast on the Digital terrestrial platform Freeview on Channel 32
and is owned and operated by the licensee Square 1 Management Limited (“Square 1”). Sumo TV
broadcasts on the Sky digital satellite platform (on Sky Channel 198), and the licence for this service is
held by Sumo TV Limited. Fitness TV broadcasts on the Sky digital satellite platform (on Sky Channel
282) and the licence for this service is held by TV Worx Limited. In the Findings, Ofcom explained that
it intended to consider sanctions only against Majestic TV concerning Psychic Today and against
Square 1 concerning Big Deal. As regards Square 1, see the Sanction Decision available at
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/enforcement/content-sanctions-adjudications/square1.pdf
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