BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

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Summary

In the lead-up to the broadcast of the Auckland-Natal rugby game on One World of

Sport on 25 May 1996, TVNZ announced that it was broadcasting the game "live".

M R Brider complained to Television New Zealand Ltd that it was inaccurate and

deceptive to describe the game as "live", when the advertised time for kick-off was

2.30pm, but the broadcast began at 2.35pm and was interrupted by advertising.

Explaining that the game was late in starting and that the kick-off was in fact shown

"live" at 2.35pm, TVNZ declined to uphold the complaint that that adjective was

inaccurate.

Dissatisfied with TVNZ's explanation in view of the breaks for advertising which

occurred during the broadcast, Mr Brider referred the complaint to the Broadcasting

Standards Authority under s.8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989.

For the reasons below, the Authority declines to uphold the complaint.

Decision

As the contents of the programme are not in dispute, it has not been necessary for the

members of the Authority to view the programme. They have read the

correspondence which is summarised in the Appendix. As is its practice, the

Authority determines the complaint without a formal hearing.

Announcements were made during the afternoon of 17 May 1996 that the rugby

match between Auckland and Natal the following Saturday, 25 May, was going to be

broadcast "live" on TV One.

Mr Brider complained to Television New Zealand Ltd that the promotion of the game

as a live one was deceptive and untruthful because in fact it was a delayed telecast

which included advertising, and the entire broadcast was delayed by five minutes.

TVNZ reassured Mr Brider that an examination of the circumstances surrounding the

Auckland and Natal game revealed that although the advertised start time was 2.30pm,

the game did not begin until 2.35pm. It advised that it considered the complaint under

standard G1 of the Television Code of Broadcasting Practice which requires

broadcasters:

G1  To be truthful and accurate on points of fact.

In declining to uphold the complaint that it was untruthful and inaccurate to describe

the game as live, TVNZ emphasised that when the kick-off finally occurred, "One

World of Sport" showed it live.

When the complaint was referred to the Authority, Mr Brider took issue with TVNZ

treating his complaint as if it focussed only on the time of the kick-off. He maintained

that even if the kick-off was live, a point which he was unable to confirm, the game

itself was not live. He repeated his objection to the description of the game as "live"

when it was delayed to include advertisements and finished several minutes later than

the game on Sky.

In its response to the Authority, TVNZ persisted with its interpretation of Mr

Brider's complaint as one which focussed on the kick-off time. It pointed out that the

entire game was not delayed, but that a short delay was introduced after the first

advertising break and it was extended slightly with each subsequent break. It noted

that at the end of the programme, TV One was running about three minutes behind real

time. Because Mr Brider had focussed on kick-off time, TVNZ advised that it was

unable to conclude that the word "live" was inaccurate, since the kick-off itself was

live.

TVNZ advised that it had received a complaint from another viewer which contended

that TVNZ had deliberately misled viewers by describing the telecast as "live". It

enclosed the response to that complaint which acknowledged that the use of the term

"live" to promote the broadcast as a whole was inaccurate and a breach of standard

G1. By way of explanation, TVNZ noted the commercial imperatives which

necessitated including advertising in the games. Whereas formerly advertising breaks

were inserted while play was going on, the technology was now available to

electronically halt the game while the advertisements were broadcast, so that viewers

did not miss any of the play. TVNZ reported that public response to this short-delay

device had been positive. Nevertheless, it acknowledged that it was inaccurate to

describe the full game as live if the short-delay device was used. It advised that the

matter of how to describe the broadcasts was still under discussion, and suggested that

it might use a term such as "kick-off live at 2.30pm".

The Authority concurs with TVNZ's reasoning in the second complaint and

encourages it to develop a more accurate description of short-delay games, such as the

suggestion above. It understands why TVNZ believed that Mr Brider's complaint

focussed on the kick-off – in his original letter of complaint, his principal concern

appeared to be that the entire broadcast was delayed by five minutes because it started

five minutes late. Consequently, the Authority affirms TVNZ's decision not to

uphold the complaint from Mr Brider.

Nevertheless it concurs with TVNZ's decision to uphold the complaint from the

second complainant and agrees that the description of the full broadcast of a short-

delay game as "live" is inaccurate.

For the reasons set forth above, the Authority declines to uphold the complaint.

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Judith Potter
Chairperson
29 August 199

Appendix

M R Brider's Complaint to Television New Zealand Limited - 25 May 1996

M R Brider of Wellington complained through the Broadcasting Standards Authority

to Television New Zealand Ltd that it had misrepresented the broadcast of the

Auckland-Natal rugby game on the afternoon of 25 May 1996 by describing it as

"live".

"Live coverage", he said, had been the substance of the announcements in the

preceding sports programme. Further, TVNZ's description did not change even when

it advised viewers that kick-off would be at 2.35pm.

However, as the real time of kick-off was 2.30pm, Mr Brider described TVNZ's

announcement as "totally deceptive".

TVNZ's Response to the Formal Complaint - 6 June 1996

Assessing the complaint under the standard which requires factual accuracy (standard

G1), TVNZ said that the actual time of kick-off was 2.35pm. As the kick-off was

shown "live" on One World of Sport, TVNZ maintained that the standard had not

been contravened.

M R Brider's Complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority - received 25

June 1996

Dissatisfied with TVNZ's response, Mr Brider said he was unable to ascertain

whether or not the kick-off was broadcast live. However, by comparing the finishing

times of the broadcasts on TVNZ and Sky, he pointed out that the broadcast of the

game on Sky finished some minutes before that on TVNZ.

Mr Brider recalled TVNZ's promotion of its broadcast as "live" but, he explained, the

advertisements shown during the broadcast meant that the entire broadcast was not

"live".

TVNZ's Response to the Authority - 27 June 1996

When asked to comment on the complaint, TVNZ pointed out that the initial

complaint focussed on the time of the kick-off and, it maintained, the kick-off had

been shown "live" by TVNZ. Consequently, the complaint about inaccuracy was not

upheld.

Explaining that commercials had to be included as otherwise it would not be possible

to afford the rights to televise rugby, TVNZ said that in the past it had inserted

commercial breaks while play was taking place. That process had angered many rugby

followers so now the game was halted electronically, while advertisements were

screened, to ensure that viewers did not miss any play.

In deciding on the method of describing this process to viewers, TVNZ said that it had

considered the word "live" was more appropriate than "delayed". However, it was

now re-considering what was the appropriate term to use when a broadcast was

interrupted for advertisements but viewers saw the full game. One possibility was a

phrase such as "kick-off live at 2.30pm", although a final decision had not been made.

M R Brider's Final Comment - 7 July 1996

Expressing frustration that TVNZ had focussed on the time of the kick-off when the

original complaint had raised some other matters, Mr Brider emphasised that TVNZ,

before the broadcast, had said the game was going "live".

As the TVNZ broadcast had finished some three minutes behind real time, Mr Brider

argued that TVNZ had breached the standards when stating that the broadcast would

be "live". In response to TVNZ's question as to the appropriate description, Mr

Brider wrote:

Perhaps the truth will suffice

He concluded:

Viewers should be advised that advertisements will be shown during the telecast

and an explanation of the impact on that telecast should be stated at that time. If

this is not done viewers are going to be misled and confused.