Ofcom Slams Big Brother Over Fight Night Fracas
Ofcom has delivered a stinging appraisal of Channel 4’s Big Brother coverage on E4, condemning the programme maker’s actions surrounding the now infamous ‘Fight Night’, during which violence erupted amongst housemates on the reality TV show.
According to Ofcom, the ‘intensity and repetition of verbal and physical violence exceeded viewers’ expectations’ on the night in question, and was compounded by Channel 4’s continuing text message captions running at the bottom of the screen.
The regulator stated that the scrolling messages gave viewers the impression that the programme was being treated as entertainment, when the situation on screen had, from what could be seen, become very serious.
Ofcom’s report follows a surge of complaints from 328 viewers, many of which, the regulator stated, were avid fans of the programme (see Ofcom Investigating Big Brother As Over 100 Complain). However, a large number of viewers were disturbed by the screening of the event, and complained that even when cameras were directed away from the action, the decision not to cut the sound of the argument led to further heightened concerns due to continued shouting and sounds suggesting objects were being used violently.
The regulator criticised Channel 4 in particular for allowing the feuding housemates to continue for “approximately 20 minutes” before sending security guards into the house to separate contestants Emma, Nadia, Victor and Jason.
Delivering its ruling on the broadcast, Ofcom stated: “we acknowledge the concerns of the viewers of Big Brother Live on E4, who knew the full background to the situation, and who saw a potentially dangerous situation develop and who had no way of predicting the outcome of this situation. This was frightening and concerning for some viewers, so much so that some called the police.”
The regulator added: “The apparent absence of intervention by Channel 4 to prevent the situation escalating to this point, having ‘engineered’ the situation originally, clearly caused distress and offence to viewers. While accepting that security men may have been positioned, the production team’s eventual intervention appeared to be too late, particularly since the confrontation had turned physical.”
Delivering its ruling, Ofcom stated that Big Brother Live on E4 was in breach of Section 1.1 (General Offence) of the Programme Code. However, the regulator rejected complaints from 190 viewers concerning the 10pm screening of Big Brother, showing highlights of the event, stating that it was properly edited and broadcast at an appropriate time.
The watchdog also rejected complaints from 83 viewers with concerns about the way the fight had affected the contestants’ welfare, stating that none of the contestants had complained about Channel 4’s actions and that those concerned were well aware of the nature of the Big Brother programme.
The last series of Big Brother was the most successful for Channel 4 so far, scoring record ratings for its finalé, with 9 million viewers tuning in to watch Portuguese transsexual Nadia snatch the £63,500 prize fund (see Big Brother Finalé Attracts Record 9 Million Viewers).Series 5 also laid claim to the first on-screen bonk between contestants, with man-eater Michelle cornering fellow contestant Stuart Wilson to secure an audience of over six million for the broadcaster (see Over Six Million Tune In For First Big Brother “Bonk”).
Channel Four: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.com Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.ukRecent Television Stories from NewsLine Hallmark Launches Campaign To Push Police Dramas Former Five Boss Enters Bidding War For Hallmark Channel Elstein’s ITV Bid Boosted By Hallmark Link
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