Ofcom imposes sanctions on Samaa TV and Studio 66

23 Aug 2022 12:47 PM

Ofcom is today imposing two financial penalties for breaches of our broadcasting rules.

• Up and Coming TV must pay £40,000 for breaches of the Broadcasting Code by its channel Samaa TV.
• We are also imposing a £15,000 financial penalty on 965 TV Limited, after its Studio 66 service broke the rules on TV advertising.

Both financial penalties are payable to HM Paymaster General.

Samaa TV

Our investigation of two consecutive editions of Nadim Malik Live, a weekday Pakistani current affairs discussion programme, found that statements in both programmes amounted to anti‑Ahmadi hate speech, and derogatory and abusive treatment of Ahmadi people. We also found that statements in the first programme amounted to antisemitic hate speech, and derogatory and abusive treatment of Jewish people. The content was not justified by the context.

Since August 2021, Samaa TV has been known as Neo News, as Up and Coming TV started using a different content provider for the service from that date. Our decision to impose a financial penalty reflects that licensees are responsible for the content they broadcast.

More information is available in our sanction decision.

Studio 66 TV

Our investigation found that five separate advertising broadcasts featured sexually explicit language and behaviour, which were capable of causing offence and had the potential to harm or distress children.

More information is available in our sanction decision.