Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has fined the cartoon channel Nickelodeon Rs. 500,000 for airing indecent content.
According to the national media watchdog, they received complaints that a cartoon character in the episode “The Emperor’s Throne” in the series “Winx Club” was wearing indecent clothing.
The authority issued a show cause notice to the channel on 28th April, 2017. Management of Nickelodeon was asked to explain themselves in writing and appear for a personal hearing on May 5th, 2017.
After hearing the channel representative and checking the written reply, PEMRA discovered that the previously mentioned content violated Clauses 3(1)(a), 3(1)(e), 12 and 17 of the Electronic Media Code of Conduct 2015.
Due to airing the above mentioned content and violating the Electronic Media Code of Conduct 2015, the channel has been fined and also warned to remain vigilant while airing the cartoon series.
Additionally the channel is directed to appoint an in-house committee to monitor the content before it goes live in order to avoid any violation of the Code of Conduct. Nickelodeon has been asked to provide details to PEMRA about this committee within 14 days. If the channel fails to comply, the authority will proceed according to law.
Earlier, PEMRA issued two show cause notices to ARY News for “casting aspersions against the armed forces of Pakistan in its programmes.”
Read More: PEMRA Issues Notice to ARY Over Airing Anti-Army Content
ARY was ordered to publish a reply to the show cause notices until June 1st. The CEO of the channel was also summoned to court for an official hearing. Failure to comply would result in “ex-parte proceedings” being initiated against ARY News.
