BCCSA FREE-TO- AIR CODE OF CONDUCT FOR BROADCASTING
SERVICE LICENSEES 2009
This Code will replace the Code as agreed to by the BCCSA in 2003 and will come
into effect on 1 January 2011

1.

Definitions
In this Code, unless the context indicates otherwise, a word or expression to
which a meaning has been assigned in the Act has the meaning so assigned.
“Act” means the Electronic Communications Act, Act no 36 of 2005;
“audience” refers to both the viewers and listeners of television and sound
Broadcasting service licensees;
“broadcasting service licensee” means a free-to-air South African broadcasting
service licensee as defined in section 1 of the Act and which: has agreed to the
jurisdiction of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA)
as constituted in 1993 by the National Association of Broadcasters and which was
formally approved by the Independent Broadcasting Authority of South Africa (now
ICASA) in 1995; and has thereby also agreed to the Constitution, Free-to-Air
Broadcasting Code and Procedural Rules of the BCCSA;
“child pornography” means any description or visual image, real or simulated,
however created, explicitly depicting a person who is or who is depicted as being
under the age of 18 years (a) engaged in or participating in sexual conduct;(b)

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 engaged in an explicit display of genitals; or (c) assisting another person to
engage in sexual conduct which, judged within context, has as its predominant
objective purpose, the stimulation of sexual arousal in its target audience;
“child” means a person under the age of 18 years;
“ICASA Act” means the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa
Act 13 of 2000;
“sexual conduct” means: (i) the display of genitals or of the anus; (ii)
masturbation; (iii) sexual intercourse including anal sexual intercourse; (iv) in the
case of child pornography, the fondling or touching of breasts, genitalia or the
anus; (v) the penetration of a vagina or anus with any object; (vi) oral genital
contact; or (vii) oral anal contact;
“watershed period” means the period between 21h00 and 05h00 for free-to-air
television Broadcasting service licensees.

2.

Scope of Application

(1)

Broadcasting service licensees must ensure that all broadcasts comply with
this Code.

(2)

Broadcasting service licensees must ensure that relevant employees and
programme producers, including those from whom they commission
programmes, understand the contents and significance of this Code.

(3)

All broadcasting service licensees should also have procedures for
ensuring that programme producers can seek guidance as to the
application of the Code from them.

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 3.

Violence and Hate speech
Broadcasting service licensees must not broadcast material which, judged within
context
(a)

contains violence which does not play an integral role in developing
the plot, character or theme of the material as a whole; or

(b)

4.

(1)

sanctions, promotes or glamorises violence or unlawful conduct.

Broadcasting service licensees must not broadcast material which, judged
within

context, sanctions, promotes or glamorises violence or unlawful

conduct based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, gender,
sexual orientation, age, or mental or physical disability.

(2)

Broadcasting service licensees must not broadcast material which, judged
within context, amounts to (a) propaganda for war; (b) incitement of
imminent violence; or (c) the advocacy of hatred that is based on race,
ethnicity, religion or gender and that constitutes incitement to cause harm.

5.

Exclusions
Clauses 3 and 4 do not apply to:

(1)

a broadcast which, judged within context, amounts to a bona fide scientific,
documentary, dramatic, artistic, or religious broadcast;

(2)

a broadcast which amounts to a discussion, argument or opinion on a
matter pertaining to religion, belief or conscience; or

(3)

a broadcast which amounts to a bona fide discussion, argument or opinion
on a matter of public interest.

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 6.

Children

(1)

Broadcasting service licensees must not broadcast material which is
harmful or disturbing to children at times when a large number of children
are likely to be part of the audience.

(2)

Broadcasting service licensees must exercise particular caution, as
provided below, in the depiction of violence in children’s programming.

(3)

In children’s programming portrayed by real-life characters, violence may,
whether physical, verbal or emotional, only be portrayed when it is
essential to the development of a character and plot.

(4)

Animated programming for children, while accepted as a stylised form of
story-telling which may contain non-realistic violence, must not have
violence as its central theme, and must not incite dangerous imitation.

(5)

Programming for children must with reasonable care deal with themes that
could threaten their sense of security when portraying, for example,
domestic conflict, death, crime or the use of drugs or alcohol.

(6)

Programming for children must with reasonable care deal with themes
which could influence children to imitate acts which they see on screen or
hear about, such as the use of plastic bags as toys, the use of matches or
the use of dangerous household objects as toys.

(7)

Programming for children must not contain realistic scenes of violence
which create the impression that violence is the preferred or only method to
resolve conflict between individuals.

(8)

Programming for children must not contain realistic scenes of violence
which minimise or gloss over the effect of violent acts. Any realistic
depictions of violence must portray, in human terms, the consequences of
that violence to its victims and its perpetrators.

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 (9)

Programming for children must not contain frightening or otherwise
excessive special effects not required by the story line.

(10)

Offensive language, including profanity and other religiously insensitive
material, must not be broadcast in programmes specially designed for
children.

(11)

No excessively or grossly offensive language should be used before the
watershed period on television or at times when a large number of children
are likely to be part of the audience on television or radio.

7.

Watershed Period

(1)

Programming on television which contains scenes of explicit violence
and/or sexual conduct and/or nudity and/or grossly offensive language
intended for adult audiences must not be broadcast before the watershed
period.

(2)

Promotional material and music videos which contain scenes of explicit
violence and/or explicit threatening violence and/or sexual conduct and/or
the fondling or touching of breasts and/or genitalia or the anus and/or
nudity and/or offensive language intended for adult audiences must not
be broadcast before the watershed period.

(3)

Some programmes broadcast outside the watershed period may not be
suitable for very young children. Licensees must provide sufficient
information, in terms of regular scheduling patterns or audience
advisories, to assist parents and de facto or legal guardians to make
appropriate viewing choices.

(4)

Television broadcasting service licensees may, with the advance of the
watershed period, progressively broadcast more adult material.

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 (5)

Broadcasting service licensees must be particularly sensitive to the
likelihood that programmes which commence during the watershed period
and which run beyond it may then be viewed by children.

8.

Sexual Conduct

(1)

Broadcasting service licensees must not broadcast material which, judged
within context, contains a scene or scenes, simulated or real, of any of the
following:
(a) child pornography;
(b) bestiality;
(c) sexual conduct which degrades a person in the sense that
it advocates a particular form of hatred based on gender
and which constitutes incitement to cause harm;
(d) explicit sexual conduct;
(e) explicit extreme violence or the explicit effects thereof; or
(f) explicit infliction of domestic violence.

(2)

Sub-clause 8(1) shall not be applicable to bona fide scientific,
documentary, dramatic or artistic material which, judged within context, is
of such a nature; provided that it is broadcast with due audience advisory
after the watershed on a sliding scale according to its content.

9.

Audience Advisories

(1)

To assist audiences in choosing programmes, television broadcasting
service licensees must provide advisory assistance which, when applicable,
must include guidelines as to age, where such broadcasts contain violence,
sex, nudity and/or offensive language. The advisory must be visible on the
screen for a minimum of 90 seconds at the commencement of the
programme and for a minimum of 30 seconds after each advertisement or
other break. Where the frequency of the said subject matters, or any one or
some of them, is high, a continuous advisory will be necessary, whether it
is broadcast before or after the watershed.

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 (2)

The following visual advisory age system must be used: 10, 13, 16 and 18.
The following symbols must be used in accordance with the relevant
content:

V(violence),

L(language),

N(nudity),

S(sex),

PG(Parental

Guidance).

(3)

An audio advisory before the commencement of the programme must also
accompany the broadcast of a film with an age restriction of 18.

10.

Classification by Films and Publications Board

(1)

Where a Films and Publications Board classification for a film exists in
terms of the Films and Publication Act No. 65 of 1996, such classification
may be used as a guideline for an advisory to the broadcast of the film.

(2)

No film which carries an XX classification in terms of the Films and
Publications Act may be broadcast.

11.

News

(1)

Broadcasting service licensees must report news truthfully, accurately and
fairly.

(2)

News must be presented in the correct context and in a fair manner,
without intentional or negligent departure from the facts, whether by:

(3)

(a)

Distortion, exaggeration or misrepresentation.

(b)

Material omissions; or

(c)

Summarisation

Only that which may reasonably be true, having reasonable regard to the
source of the news, may be presented as fact, and such fact must be
broadcast fairly with reasonable regard to context and importance.

(4)

Where a report is not based on fact or is founded on opinion, supposition,
rumours or allegations, it must be presented in such manner as to indicate,
clearly that such is the case.
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 (5)

Where there is reason to doubt the correctness of the report and it is
practicable to verify the correctness thereof, it must be verified. Where such
verification is not practicable, that fact must be mentioned in the report.

(6)

Where it subsequently appears that a broadcast report was incorrect in a
material respect, it must be rectified forthwith, without reservation or delay.
The rectification must be presented with such a degree of prominence and
timing as in the circumstances may be adequate and fair so as to readily
attract attention.

(7)

The identity of rape victims and other victims of sexual violence must
not be divulged in any broadcast, whether as part of news or not, without
the prior valid consent of the victim concerned.

(8)

Broadcasting service licensees must advise viewers in advance of scenes
or reporting of extraordinary violence, or graphic reporting on delicate
subject-matter such as sexual assault or court action related to sexual
crimes, particularly during afternoon or early evening newscasts and
updates.

(9)

Broadcasting service licensees must not include explicit or graphic images
or language, related to news of destruction, accidents or sexual violence
which could disturb children or sensitive audiences, except where it is in
the public interest to include such material.

12.

Comment

(1)

Broadcasting service licensees are entitled to broadcast comment on and
criticism of any actions or events of public importance.

(2)

Comment must be an honest expression of opinion and must be
presented in such manner that it appears clearly to be comment, and must
be made on facts truly stated or fairly indicated and referred to.

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 (3)

Where a person has stated that he or she is not available for comment or
such a person could not reasonably be reached, it must be stated in the
programme.

13.

Controversial Issues of Public Importance

(1)

In presenting a programme in which a controversial issue of public
importance is discussed, a broadcaster must make reasonable efforts to
fairly present opposing points of view either in the same programme or in a
subsequent programme forming part of the same series of programmes
presented within a reasonable period of time of the original broadcast and
within substantially the same time slot.

(2)

A person whose views are to be criticised in a broadcasting programme on
a controversial issue of public importance must be given the right to reply to
such criticism on the same programme. If this is impracticable, reasonable
opportunity to respond to the programme should be provided where
appropriate, for example in a right to reply programme or in a pre-arranged
discussion programme with the prior consent of the person concerned.

14.

Elections

During any election period, as defined in the Act, sections 56, 57, 58 and 59 of the
Act and regulations issued in terms thereof apply. The BCCSA does not have
jurisdiction in these matters and complaints must be directed to the Complaints
and Compliance Committee of the Independent Communications Authority of
South Africa.

15.

Privacy, Dignity and Reputation

(1)

Broadcasting service licensees must exercise exceptional care and
consideration in matters involving the privacy, dignity and reputation of
individuals, bearing in mind that the said rights may be overridden by a
legitimate public interest.

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 (2)

In the protection of privacy, dignity and reputation special weight must be
afforded to South African cultural customs concerning the privacy and
dignity of people who are bereaved and their respect for those who have
passed away.

(3)

In the protection of privacy, dignity and reputation special weight must be
afforded to the privacy, dignity and reputation of children, the aged and the
physically and mentally disabled.

16.

Competitions and Audience Participation

(1)

Where audiences are invited on air to react to a programme or competition
broadcasting service licensees must make known the full cost of a
telephone call or a SMS.

(2)

Broadcasting service licensees must specify the proportion of the cost of
the call or SMS, as the case may be, which is intended for any specified
charitable cause.

(3)

Broadcasting service licensees must ensure that audiences who are invited
to compete in any competition are made aware on air of the rules of the
competition. Such rules must include the closing date and the manner in
which the winner is to be determined.

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