Top header Banner
Top header Banner
Middle top Banner

Sony SAB TV found in breach of on-air competition

The UK’s only light-entertainment Asian TV channel, Sony SAB TV has been found in breach of Ofcom rules and regulations after a competition it broadcast relating to its cookery show ‘Taste Of Asia’ in February 2017.

Ofcom received a complaint about a competition linked to the cookery programme ‘Taste of Asia’. The competition was scheduled in a break during Sony SAB TV’s coverage of a film award ceremony. The competition, which was sponsored by Kohinoor Rice, had the logos of the brand appear on-screen when the competition entry details and terms and conditions were shown.

Sony SAB TV explained that ‘Taste of Asia’ is a cookery show “sponsored by a number of clients”. The broadcaster said that “a separate competition relating to the show was run on the channel” and that it “was created and the prizes were provided by the sponsors of the show”. It added that “[t]he competition was scheduled as a promo within a promo break” and that commercials “were clearly separated by the channel optical”. The Licensee confirmed the
competition was broadcast as editorial content.

The Licensee said that the sponsorship credits for Kohinoor, NaturZ and Sukhdev “ran during the show and promos throughout the schedule”. It explained that a scheduling error led to the transmission of the credits at the end of the competition: the Licensee acknowledged that the credits “should not have aired” at this time.

In response to Ofcom’s Preliminary View, the channel accepted that “the advertiser logos were prominently displayed throughout as well as mentioned in the voice over”. It said that “there ha[d] been a planning error on this occasion and sincerely apologise[d] for th[e] incident”. The Licensee added that it had put measures in place and taken a number of steps “to ensure these incidents are avoided and do not occur again”.

Ofcom considered that the focus of this competition was the products, brands and services and, as a result, the material was akin to advertising rather than programming. The Licensee acknowledged that the advertiser logos were prominently displayed throughout as well included in the voice over. We took into account that: the Licensee had apologised in its representations to Ofcom; explained that the incident was the result of a “planning error”; and, taken steps to ensure a similar incident would not recur.