NEW DELHI: Two separate channels of the Big CBS bouquet have been levied financial penalties by the Broadcast Content Complaints Council (BCCC) for "transgression of programming codes and ethics".

The action was taken against Big CBS Love and Big CBS Spark following a complaint by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

The industry regulator headed by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice A.P. Shah said the rap song ‘No lie‘ by rappers Drake and No Change on Big CBS Spark contains ‘highly inappropriate language and are grossly offensive to good taste and decency.‘

After issuing a show-cause notice and hearing the channel, the BCCC decided to impose a financial penalty of Rs 2,50,000 on the Channel. The Channel had been directed to deposit the amount of financial penalty with the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) on or before 15 September.

The Council also directed the channel to run an apology scroll in English, in large and legible bold fonts at normal speed, every two hours over a period of three days from 12 p.m. on 25 August 2013 to 10 a.m. on Wednesday 28 August 2003. The scroll will read: "In compliance with BCCC‘s Order passed on 14 August 2013, Big CBS Spark apologises for the telecast of rap song ‘No Lie‘ by rappers No Chainz and Drake on 2 May 2013. This programme was found to be in violation of Indian Broadcasting Foundation‘s (IBF) Self-Regulatory Guidelines."

The song had been telecast on 2 May this year and the channel was issued a show cause notice and heard on 10 July and 12 August. BCCC found the defence of the channel about it being a niche channel or restructuring its Standards and Practices Department were untenable.

The Council found that the programme in question is violating Clauses (a), (d) and (k) of the ‘Programme Code‘. In addition to this, the programmes are also violating Guidelines 1 and 2 of ‘Theme 2: Sex, Obscenity and Nudity‘ of the IBF Self-Regulatory Guidelines. Furthermore, the Programme is also violating Clause a) of Category ‘G‘ Programmes for unrestricted viewing and/or under parental guidance as well as Clause a) of Category ‘R‘ Programmes.

In the complaint relating to Big CBS Love, the BCCC considered a series of complaints against Big CBS Love Channel for its three Programmes ‘Sex and the City‘ (7, 9, 10, 11, 17, 21, 23 & 29 April 2013), ‘America‘s Next Top Model‘ (20 March 2013) and ‘Britain‘s Next Top Model‘ (15 April 2013).

The BCCC after hearing the channel in reply to the show cause notice decided to impose a consolidated financial penalty of Rs 10,00,000. The Channel was directed to deposit the mount of Financial Penalty with the Indian Broadcasting Foundation on or before 15 September 2013.

The Council also directed the channel to run an Apology Scroll, in English, in large and legible bold fonts at normal speed, every Two hours, over a period of seven days, from 12 Noon on 24 August 2013 to 10 AM on 31 August 2013. The scroll will read:

"In compliance with BCCC‘s Order passed on 14 August 2013, Big CBS Love apologizes for the telecast of its Programmes ‘Sex and the City‘, ‘America‘s Next Top Model‘ and ‘Britain‘s Next Top Model‘ in March-April 2013. These programmes were found to be in violation of Indian Broadcasting Foundation‘s (IBF) Self-Regulatory Guidelines."

The Council found that the shows in question are violative of Clauses (a), (d) and (k) of the ‘Programme Code‘. In addition to this, the shows are also violative of ‘Theme 2: Sex, Obscenity and Nudity‘ of IBF‘s Self-Regulatory Guidelines. Furthermore, the shows are also violative of Clauses a) to e) of Category ‘G‘ Programmes for unrestricted viewing and/or under parental guidance as well as Clauses a) to e) of Category ‘R‘ Programmes. Repeated complaints have been received about the gross contents of these shows in the past.

It was brought to the Council‘s notice that on 19 July 2013, the IBF Board of Directors has conferred powers on BCCC to levy Financial Penalty on a Channel, subject to a maximum of Rs 30 lakh.

MUMBAI: There is good news for foodies; FoodFood is all set to bring exquisite cuisines to your platter. The lifestyle channel is all set to add new flavours with two new specialties.

This new concept will be a trend setter for channels believes Sanjeev Kapoor

Get ready to see Chef Sanjeev Kapoor travel around the globe exploring different cuisines and eating habits of the locals. The Out of the World Series?Africa, which will shoot across 105 countries, starts its journey from East Africa. In the first season, which begins from today, the chef along with his six member crew travels to Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. "The show is a marriage of food and travel," says producer Runjiv Kapur.

In the show Sanjeev will recount his tale of scary encounters, unusual spices and rendezvous with tribal chieftain and much more! "When we started shooting for the show, nothing was planned. We shot for 15 days for 12-13 hours a day. And shooting at every stop," he adds.

So why start with East Africa? Answers Sanjeev, "Two reasons: One, because it is a creator of mankind and two because the producer is based in Tanzania." The host of the series also believes that it is a concept which is different and would be a trend setter for channels.

Talking about how the concept came about, producer Kapur who is writing a series of books onGreat Bazaars of the World says, "When I met Sanjeev a few years back I pitched the idea of going to the bazaars of the world and shooting not in the kitchen but on location. We did shoot a pilot for the same then but could not take it ahead because Sanjeev had to devote 15 days for the shoot, which did not work out." It was last year that the duo got together again and took it forward by starting the shoot in East Africa.

Team FoodFood is excited about the two new launches

The unique thing about the programme is that it has been shot in natural habitats which will see even animals roaming around freely. "We are cooking the local cuisines with local chefs. So Sanjeev is watching the chef create the dish and he then explains it to the audience," informs Kapur.

According to the two, the show is not scripted. "Because it is not scripted, we shot hours of footage for a 22 minute episode. We were literally shooting on the fly. And when you do that, the show takes shape on the editing table. Though there was a structure initially, it later became more spontaneous," adds Kapur.

Not confirming the next destination, Kapur says that they are looking at places which are unexplored. "It is no mall shopping show. We are looking at places with rich culture, history and not much explored. We are here on a discovery." The duo has already started working on the next season and believes that the feedback they get from the first season will add value to the next.

So, does shooting a show of this magnitude require big budget? "For channel like us, we learn to do things in an efficient way. Even for world class quality you may not need to spend too much, yes you have to put more efforts, like we shot gorilla style, but at the end we have come out with a great product," informs Sanjeev.

Another show which went on air on 13 August hopes to connect with the audience by bringing out the essence of tea time. The focus of the show Hi Tea, hosted by Chef Ajay Chopra, is on the Indian family for whom tea time gives another reason to get together. "The idea is to promote the concept of Chal Chai Peete Hai," says Chopra who was earlier seen in the first season of MasterChef India on Star Plus.

The show will concentrate on the tea drinking habits of people around the globe. "Tea has become a reason for people to meet. Also what makes it special is the snacks along with the Tea. And through this show, I am telling people not only of different ways of drinking tea, but the add on snacks along with their special tea," adds Chopra.

MasterChef India fame Ajay Chopra is excited about his new show Hi Tea

So how did it all start? Chopra (smiles) and says, "I met Sanjeev Kapoor during MasterChef. It was then that we started thinking of doing something in FoodFood. Though nothing materialised then, it was four months back that we again started talking about the show." Ask how it is different from the rest of the shows, he informs, "See there are two ways to connect to people: Either reach out to them through their favourite cuisine or through presenting new cuisines. In this show we are reaching their heart with new cuisines. Through this show, we want to make teatime, the best experience of the day."

While Hi Tea occupies the 4 pm slot, Out of the World Series?Africa will be on at 9 pm. Explaining the time slot, Sanjeev says, "Well, the show in the 4 pm slot is for pure learning. In this slot we are targeting people who want to learn and replicate the dish. So the core audience for Hi Tea is someone who wants to learn to cook while the secondary audience is the family. For, Out of the World Series?Africa, our core TG is the family which comes together to watch a series like this."

Both the shows have completed the shoot for the first season. The first season of Hi Tea will have 26 episodes and is looking at a larger chunk of 100 episodes. While Out of the World Series?Africa has shot 15 episodes for its first season. Chopra for the first season has set up his kitchen in Filmistan located in Goregaon in Mumbai. "Well, we have started with shooting in my kitchen, which has been especially created for this show, but I am also looking at shooting in hotels first in India and then abroad," informs Chopra.

The channel is using all mediums: television, print, outdoor to market the two shows. "We do spend on marketing, but we do smart spending," comments Sanjeev. The channel is only buying the hoardings in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and couple of sites in Pune for promotions. They have also shot around 10 promos for Out of the World Series?Africa for television promotions and a one-minute long promo for Hi Tea, which will now be broken to various versions.

Ask the planners and they say that though this is not a unique concept as in the past various other chefs have tried their hands on travel and food genre. "What we have to see is how well it is accepted by the Indian pallet," says a Delhi based media planner.

Is the channel trying an Anthony Bourdain and Bobby Chinn twist with the addition of these two shows? It is up to the food and travel lovers to give their verdict, which we will surely keep a track of once the television ratings are declared!

NEW DELHI: The Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) has said TV Channels must rely upon its discretion while depicting any content that leads to the stereotyping of minorities.

While reiterating that it wanted to ‘avoid being a pre-censoring agency or intrude upon the freedom of media‘, the Council said channels should approach content of sensitivity to the minorities with caution and, when necessary, ensure that any such depiction is preceded by a declaration that it is a work of fiction and bears no resemblance to any community, caste or creed.

Addressing issues and complaints regarding portrayal of content sensitive to the minorities in various TV programmes, it said ‘due diligence should be adopted to ensure that an entire community is not projected as fanatic, intolerant or criminal.‘

‘The objective is to create an atmosphere congenial to communal harmony, peace and amity without telecasting content that hurts the sentiments of communities and religious groups,‘ it added.

NEW DELHI: The Broadcast Content Complaints Council (BCCC) has advised all television channels to be ‘extremely sensitive to the excruciating physical and psychological agony of acid attack victims‘ and ‘mitigate the overwhelming implications of any such depiction‘ in their reports.

In an advisory sent to TV channels, the BCCC has said it is time broadcasters were also sensitised against showing acid attacks.

‘This is even more pertinent for various crime-based programmes since these shows often depict an acid attack case in some detail through the dramatised version of a real incident‘, the advisory said.

It said it had received several complaints relating to content that depicts acid attacks in TV programmes. In almost all cases, the targets are women and girls.

The Council considers acid attacks to be ‘among the most heinous of crimes with traumatic, irreversible physical and psychological consequences to the victim‘.

The Supreme Court has taken cognisance of the growing number of acid attacks in India and directed the State to frame and implement most stringent rules to regulate the sale of acid and other corrosive substances.