Fashion TV banned for 'hot' show

TOO HOT TO HANDLE? FTV is the second channel to be banned by India in the last few months.

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New Delhi: After TV channel AXN, which was temporarily banned, it is now the turn of Fashion TV to be gagged.

FTV on Thursday became the second foreign channel to be banned by India in the last few months.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the programmes telecast by the channel were “against good taste and decency and denigrated women.”

Such shows were likely to adversely affect public morality, the Ministry said.

The transmission of the channel has been prohibited with effect from April 1 to May 30 under Sub-Section (2) of Section 20 of the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995.

The Ministry especially mentioned FTV programmes like Midnight Hot in which “skimpily dressed and semi-naked models are shown that are against good taste and decency, and which denigrate women.”

This is not FTV’s first brush with controversy. The Government had banned Fashion TV in February 2002 for vulgarity but the decision was reversed a week later when the channel promised to follow a code of conduct.

Earlier, AXN’s programme The World's Sexiest Advertisements was banned for showing “obscene” programmes. However, the ban was lifted after the channel apologised to the Government.

(With inputs from UNI)