Brit Asia TV rapped for Awards mention

Brit Asia TV has been rapped by Ofcom for the mention of its Brit Asia Music Awards last year.

Last September, prior to its event, Ofcom received a complaint about references to the Awards which appeared in the television programme ‘Big Tunes’ on 30th September 2015, and which the complainant considered to be promotional in nature.

Ofcom viewed the programme and noted that the presenter made the following statements:
��ω�_at the Brit Asia World TV Awards, that is happening at the Barclaycard Arena on 3 October 2015, so make sure you are there. Make sure if you want to see Ranjit Bawa live, performing for the first time in the UK, you have to get your tickets, ok. Simple way to get your tickets: they are online, ok, so all you have to go is to [website address given] or [website address given], so make sure you get your tickets�۝.

���So if you want to see Kulwinder Billa live. Not just Kulwinder Billa: Ranjit Bawa, Kulwinder Billa, Imran Khan��_so many other performers��_make sure you get your tickets from [website address given] or [website address given]�۝.

Brit Asia TV believed it was entitled to create programming centred around the Awards as it was the Licensee�۪s own event, produced for television, and one that held great importance amongst the British Asian community. Brit Asia said that a number of complimentary tickets were available via the websites mentioned, in addition to those for which there was a charge, and that any mention of the Awards during programming was simply to promote the Awards ceremony programme, which was a Christmas special watched all over the world, rather than for any financial gain.

Although Ofcom accepted that there was scope for Brit Asia to promote its televised coverage of the Awards, it considered that the discussion about the Awards in the programme served to promote the event itself rather than the Licensee�۪s broadcast coverage. In particular, we noted that the presenter referred to the location and date of the live event, and provided details of how viewers could obtain tickets to attend via two named ticketing websites. We also noted that the presenter explicitly encouraged viewers to attend the live event, for example by stating ���make sure you are there�۝ and ���make sure you get your tickets�۝. Ofcom considered that the explicit invitations to obtain tickets to attend the event via two proprietary websites, were contrary to the requirements of Rule 9.4 and that, in effect, this part of the programming amounted to advertising of the live event, contrary to Rule 9.2.