Ofcom has imposed two financial penalties after a breach of its broadcasting rules.
Up and Coming TV must pay £40,000 for breaches of the Broadcasting Code by its channel Samaa TV, while 965 TV Limited has received a £15,000 penalty after its Studio 66 service broke the rules on TV advertising.
The regulator says two consecutive editions of Samaa TV’s Pakistani current affairs discussion show, Nadim Malik Live, included statements amounting to anti-Ahmadi hate speech, and derogatory and abusive treatment of Ahmadi people. There were also statements in the first programme that amounted to antisemitic hate speech, and derogatory and abusive treatment of Jewish people.
Ofcom says the decision to impose a financial penalty reflects that licensees are responsible for the content they broadcast.
Since August 2021, Samaa TV has been known as Neo News, as Up and Coming TV started using a different content provider for the service from that date
The investigation into Studio 66 found that five separate advertising broadcasts featured sexually explicit language and behaviour, which could cause offence and had the potential to harm or distress children.
Both financial penalties are payable to HM Paymaster General.
