Channel Ten breached ACMA licence code by showing Ripper Street promo during Masterchef
Ripper Street
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found Channel Ten breached its codes of practice by showing an unsuitable promo for Ripper Street during an episode of Masterchef.
The promo for the show inspired by the story of serial killer Jack the Ripper sparked a complaint to the ACMA because it contained sex and violence.
Although Channel Ten argued the promo has a mild impact and would not be unsuitable for children to watch while unsupervised, the ACMA maintained it did not fit the G classification demanded of content aired in breaks during MasterChef.
The Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice enforces the G classification across all programming between 7pm and 8.30pm to prevent children from being exposed to unsuitable material.
The ACMA received the following complaint: “During G-rated MasterChef Channel Ten broadcast an M rated ‘First Look’ for ‘Ripper Street’ which is a clear breach of the code of practice in relation to promotions in G viewing periods. It had quotes like ‘She’s been raped’, ‘I will kill her’, ‘Murderer’, plus sexual scenes I would not class as mild or innocent and threat and [menace] as a woman is dragged from a building.”
Defending the promo, Ten argued it was mild enough for a G classification.
“The visual or verbal references to violent crimes are brief and non-detailed. They are also undercut by the use of a contemporary pop song over the top of the visuals as well as the use of graphics pointing out that the series is coming soon to Ten,” the network submitted.
Ten also argued the period setting of Ripper Street, in Victorian London, further mitigates the impact of the material.
However the ACMA found the 50 second promotion shown at 8.08pm on July 23, breached two clauses of the code of practice.
“The ACMA found that the treatment of violence in the promotion was not very restrained and therefore exceeded the G classification and that some scenes depicted physical violence that exceeded the additional special restrictions,” the ACMA said in a statement.
In response to the finding Ten will circulate the ACMA report to all members of its classification department and relevant programming and promotions staff. The network has also pledged its commitment to ensure future promotions are appropriately scheduled, the ACMA maintains.
The full report is published on the ACMA website.
Megan Reynolds
The number of times we’ve had to reach for the remote during the Cricket is insane. Guns, sex, violence – and that’s just the promos for A Current Affair. The M-rated drama that’s being promoted between overs is appalling.
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Well, the show’s title may have been inspired by the infamous “ripper” but having watched two series, it is NOT about “Jack the Ripper” – an different story altogether.
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Hi Easely,
Thank you. The show is actually set six months after the Jack the Ripper murders in London. I’ve updated the story.
Cheers,
Megan – Mumbrella