[RichardG]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011...=FBCNETTXT9038

Ofcom has ruled that Channel 5 broke the broadcasting code for repeatedly airing clips of Big Brother housemates using the word "****" immediately after 9pm – in once case the expletive was used just 11 seconds after the watershed.

Channel 5 argued that the use of the swearwords was "editorially justified" owing to a range of factors, including that the broadcaster felt that 11 seconds was not "immediately after the watershed".

In two episodes of the reality TV show – the Friday night eviction episodes of 23 and 30 September – clips rounding up events in the Big Brother house over the course of the previous week featured housemates using the word "****" or "****ing" a total of four times.

The four uses of the expletive occurred within 31 seconds of the 9pm watershed, which is designed to protect children from being exposed to more adult material such as swearing and violence.

One instance of the use of the expletive came just 11 seconds after 9pm and less than six seconds after the start of the show.

Channel 5 said that the weekly roundup clip at the start of each show was "essential" to remind viewers of the build-up to the eviction. The broadcaster added that the strong language reflected the "heightened tensions" and "represented the genuine feelings of the housemates".

Ofcom recently updated broadcasters on guidance for airing content around the watershed, noting that there should be a "smooth transition to more adult content. It should not commence with the strongest material."

The broadcasting code guideline in question, rule 1.6, is designed to "avoid a sudden change to material that would only be deemed suitable for a post-watershed broadcast".

Channel 5 defended the broadcasts, arguing that viewers are familiar with the type of content in Big Brother, and the fact there is an "unambiguous" warning at the start of the episodes that there is "strong language from the start".

The broadcaster said this "provided a clear context and sufficiently prepared viewers for the opening sequence".

Ofcom said that four instances of swearing within 31 seconds of 9pm meant that it did not accept Channel 5's argument that the programmes "did not include strong language immediately after the watershed".

The media regulator said that given there is an "absolute prohibition" on the most offensive language immediately before 9pm, a broadcaster would need "very strong reasons" to justify airing strong language straight after the watershed.

"Ofcom did not consider there was sufficient editorial justification to include repeated use of the most offensive language in these programmes so soon after the watershed," it said in its ruling.

"The two uses of the word '****' or '****ing' in each programme in the period directly after the watershed did in Ofcom's view constitute an 'unduly abrupt' transition to more adult material at the watershed."