The prime time TV series Wonderful Life (真情滿天下) and Mom’s House (娘家) were again fined by the National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday for violating the TV rating system.
The commission also punished several news channels for embedding goods and services in news programs, with the total penalties topping NT$3.15 million (US$95,000).
The penalties were first proposed by an independent TV program and commercial content review committee, which the NCC employs to rule in such cases. The committee is made up of 14 experts — presided over by a NCC commissioner who does not have the right to vote — but only nine members are needed for a quorum.
SET TV was fined NT$800,000 for Wonderful Life after the June 15 episode contained explicit details of violence and terror deemed inappropriate for broadcasting during general rating hours.
FTV’s Mom’s House was penalized NT$630,000 for similar reasons, as well as for violating product placement rules.
Jason Ho (何吉森), director of the NCC’s communication content department, said that the penalty in each case was determined not only by the severity of the violation but also by the station’s record over the past three years.
Eight news channels were either fined or asked to improve their programming after violating Article 19 of the Satellite Radio and Television Act (衛星廣播電視法), which states: “Programs shall maintain their completeness and be distinguishable from advertisements.”
CTiTV News led the eight channels in terms of the size of its penalties. It was fined NT$1.2 million for two shows: Sisy Chen’s (陳文茜) My Dream, My Life (文茜夢想驛站) and the station’s coverage on Jun. 8 of a new luxury apartment building in Sanchong (三重).
Chen’s program on July 10 promoted a feast being offered by a Taichung hotel, with the reporter listing the names of each of the courses and describing how each was prepared.
The story on the apartment building provided detailed coverage of its facilities.
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