More than 30 percent of free television viewers in Hong Kong had found offensive stuff in TV programs and advertisements, a survey conducted by the Broadcasting Authority (BA) revealed.

The survey found that 35.8 percent of the 1,625 respondents had found outrageous materials in free TV channels. Another 26.8 percent and 16.7 percent had found such materials in Pay-TV and radio channels respectively.

The objectionable materials include the use of language, violence and the provision of inaccurate information in advertisements, said the authority's Broadcasting Services Survey Working Group chairman Adrian Wong.

Despite the presence of offensive materials, 70 percent of the free TV and pay TV viewers, and 77 percent of radio listeners considered the current programme standards appropriate.

Respondents had also valued the importance of protecting children from unsuitable materials. More than 90 percent of the respondents having children said they had watched "Parental Guidance" programmes in households with their children.

Meanwhile, the BA has planned to collaborate with a local university to conduct a study on the benchmarks relating to the use of language in broadcasting.

BA Chairman Daniel Fung, however, said that the situation is not alarming.

He, however, denied that the study was conducted in response to the survey and the earlier criticisms against the authority after it deemed a movie, An Autumn's Tale, produced 20 years ago, unsuitable for TV viewing in prime time because it contained filthy language.

"We just want to gain a better understanding of the community expectation on monitoring the performance of electronic media," he said.

The survey also revealed that 6.6 percent of free TV viewers and 3.4 percent of radio listeners were not happy with programmes, the number of which had been increased from two percent and 0.5 percent respectively from the last survey conducted in 2005.

The proportion of respondents subscribing to pay TV services had increased from 33.8 percent in 2005 to 45 percent in 2007, the survey said.

Fung said this reflected the growing diversity of tastes and interests in the community.

The survey also revealed 73 percent of the respondents had recognized the BA as an avenue for dealing with complaints on broadcasting contents in both TV and radio.

(China Daily November 23, 2007)