Ottawa, June 16, 2016 - The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) today released its decision concerning an episode of Workaholics on Much. The comedy program included a scene involving a dog licking a man’s behind. The CBSC concluded that there were no breaches of any broadcast codes, as the program was appropriately scheduled at 9:00 pm with viewer advisories and a 14+ rating.
Workaholics is an American comedy program about three men who live, work and party together. Their interests include pornography, smoking drugs and sleeping with women. Much broadcast an episode entitled “Dorm Daze” on December 25, 2015 at 9:00 pm Eastern time. It included a scene of US Coast Guard officers having their dog lick the bum of one of the main characters in retaliation for his having made crude comments about their profession.
A viewer in Alberta complained about the scene, characterizing it as “bestiality” and “animal cruelty”, and objecting to the fact that the program appeared at 7:00 pm in the Mountain time zone.
The CBSC’s English-Language Panel examined the complaint under the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Code of Ethics and Violence Code. The Panel found no code violations. It determined that the scene did not “promote, sanction or glamorize” violence against animals, as the scene was part of the humorous plot of the episode. It also noted that Much appropriately scheduled the program at 9:00 pm Eastern, but being a single-feed specialty service means its programming appears earlier in time zones west of Ontario. The codes clearly state that the broadcast time is based on the time zone in which the signal originates. Finally, the Panel concluded that Much provided sufficient viewer advisories and that the 14+ rating was acceptable, although the constant barrage of sexual innuendo in the program meant it was close to the 18+ category.
The CBSC was created in 1990 by Canada’s private broadcasters to administer the codes of standards that they established for their industry. The CBSC currently administers 7 codes which deal with ethics, equitable portrayal, violence, news and journalistic independence. Around 800 radio stations, satellite radio services, television stations and specialty and pay television services across Canada participate in the Council.
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All CBSC decisions, Codes, links to members’ and other web sites, and related information are available on the CBSC’s website at . For more information, please contact the CBSC National Chair, Andrée Noël, at anoel@cbsc.ca or CBSC Executive Director, John MacNab, at jmacnab@cbsc.ca or by telephone at (613) 233-4607.