Swearing Rap for the BBC

The BBC has been ordered to broadcast a statement of TV watchdog Ofcom’s findings over swearing broadcast before the watershed at last year’s Live Earth concert.

The penalty is one of the toughest sanctions to date against the BBC.

Viewers complained about six instances in which the “most offensive language” was broadcast.

Ofcom has ordered its findings to be broadcast on BBC1 and BBC2. Live Earth was broadcast live from Wembley as part of a seven- continent series of concerts on BBC1 and BBC2 on July 7 last year.

In its ruling, Ofcom said the breaches of the broadcasting code – on airing offensive language before the watershed – had been “serious and repeated”.

The BBC had “failed to deploy effective and appropriate procedures to prevent the broadcast of the most offensive language”, it said.

There was a “considerable delay” before the BBC broadcast an apology and some of the most offensive language was broadcast when children were likely to be in the audience on Saturday afternoon, Ofcom said.

The watchdog said: “Ofcom considered that the BBC had not sufficiently taken into account Ofcom’s previous decisions in cases similar to Live Earth.”

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