Australian TV network criticised over gambling adverts

Australia’s Channel Nine television network has been criticised by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) following a complaint from a member of the public that the network screened Crown gambling adverts during the 6.30 pm film The Spiderwick Chronicles on channel 9GO!.

The 2008 fantasy film, which Nine screened late last year, carried a parental guidance -“mild violence” rating but is youth-oriented.

Crown flighted 6 adverts during the film, promoting the 2016 AFGL Grand Final.

Channel Nine defended the case, claiming that The Spiderwick Chronicles was PG rated and therefore directed at families and not just children, but the ACMA rejected the argument, finding that a film “principally directed to children” does not have to be exclusively directed to children.

“ACMA considers that whether a program is principally directed to children must be considered on a case by case basis,” the adjudicating panel ruled. “An ordinary reasonable viewer would likely form the view that the content was principally directed to children under the age of 15.”

Channel Nine said that it believed it had interpreted the advertising code correctly, but that the ACMA ruling had now provided clarity, enabling the network to refine its advertising placement protocols to reflect the decision.

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