TV News South Africa

MultiChoice tells BCCSA "we didn't know"

Kenny vs. Spenny, a Canadian comedic reality show in which two friends compete in various challenges against one another and in which the loser has to do something humiliating at the end of the show, has landed broadcaster MultiChoice before the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) after several complaints were filed about the show. Kenny vs. Spenny is broadcast on the Animax channel on DStv.

Show sets a challenge

The show sets a challenge, such as "Who makes the most convincing woman?" or "Who can stay naked the longest?" in which the two stars compete. The loser then has to complete a humiliating 'punishment' like modelling women's lingerie in a store window or licking the door handle of an adult video store.

One episode apparently contains a scene in which one of the stars simulates sex on a goat and this was one of the episodes complained about to the BCCSA. For the record, Wikipedia seems to suggest that Spenny, in a goat costume, was humped by his own goat rather than the other way around...

In any case, Multichoice explained that it did not knowingly broadcast the scene since it "merely relayed the signal it received from the overseas broadcaster to its subscribers and was not aware of the exact content of the broadcast". The tribunal accepted this explanation.

Overview on Wikipedia

However, an overview of episodes on Wikipedia seems to suggest that the presenters use sexual acts quite extensively to "gross out" its probably predominantly younger male audience. In season six, you can expect Kenny to spread dog food on Spenny's buttocks and have dogs eat it off. In season five, Kenny plays with his penis in front of his mother and Spenny is attacked by a pro wrestler who attempts to sodomise him with a beer bottle.

I would suggest MultiChoice not use the "we didn't know" excuse again.

In another scene, which resulted in a second complaint, one can see a light aircraft pulling a banner with the words "Jesus sucks" behind it. In the episode in question, according to MultiChoice, Kenny and Spenny competed to see who can annoy most people. MultiChoice argued that "the words appearing in the episode do not amount to hate speech as they do not advocate hatred or incite harm on the basis of the religion. The words are just mere statements meant to taunt."

No contravention

The tribunal again found no contravention of the Broadcasting Code since "the words complained of are so defiant to the deity of Jesus that it constitutes the advocacy of hatred, but that the context in which it was published did not amount to the incitement to cause harm."

For the full, rather descriptive, schedule for Kenny vs. Spenny that MultiChoice publishes on its local Animax website, go to www.animaxtv.co.za/shows/kenny-vs-spenny.

About Herman Manson: @marklives

The inaugural Vodacom Social Media Journalist of the Year in 2011, Herman Manson (@marklives) is a business journalist and media commentator who edits industry news site www.marklives.com. His writing has appeared in newspapers and magazines locally and abroad, including Bizcommunity.com. He also co-founded Brand magazine.
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