Note to Broadcasters
Daytime chat and adult chat television services
Recent complaint assessments and investigations1 about television channels promoting telephone chat services have highlighted concerns
about the sexual nature of content on some of these services. This note reminds broadcasters responsible for such services of Ofcom’s guidance on daytime and adult chat services.
Channels promoting audience interaction through
premium rate services are subject to the BCAP Code as they are long-form advertising services. The BCAP Code contains rules that ensure audiences, including children, are protected from material that may cause them harm or is offensive.
Ofcom’s guidance published in July 2013 states that channels offering ‘daytime chat’ and ‘adult chat’ services must be placed within the ‘adult’ or similarly identified section of a platform’s electronic programme guide. The guidance
also clearly sets out what Ofcom considers to be acceptable to broadcast on these services, both before and after the watershed.
During daytime chat content, presenters’ dress and behaviour should be non-sexual in tone and
apparent intent. Therefore, presenters should wear clothing that adequately covers their bodies (in particular their breasts, genital areas and buttocks). Presenters should not wear revealing underwear, swimwear, gym wear or fetish clothing.
Between 21:00 and 05:30 on cable and satellite platforms and midnight and 05:30 on terrestrial platforms, broadcasters may promote adult chat services. Adult chat broadcasters should ensure that the transitions to more adult material
at 21:00, and from adult chat to daytime chat at 05:30, are not unduly abrupt. For example, no shots of bare breasts should be broadcast before 22:00. Additionally, the guidance lists examples of content that these broadcasters should avoid altogether.
These include images of presenters’ anal, labial or genital areas, real or simulated sex acts and sexually explicit language.
Ofcom has made clear to licensees in published decisions what sort of material is unsuitable in daytime
chat or adult chat advertising content broadcast without mandatory restricted access.
Ofcom is putting daytime chat and adult chat broadcasters on notice that as a result our concerns about these services’ compliance with the BCAP
Code, we are commencing a targeted monitoring exercise of all services broadcasting daytime and adult chat content. Ofcom will consider any breach relating to the broadcast of sexual content on these services to be potentially serious and will consider
taking appropriate regulatory action, which could include the imposition of a statutory sanction.
