Society | Dec 09

NHK pulls plug on televising Olympic qualifiers over sex toy ad

Advertisements for a sex toy company plastered over the ice at qualifiers for the Beijing Olympics curling competition have prompted Japanese public broadcaster NHK to pull matches off the air.

NHK had planned to show all of the Japanese mixed-doubles team’s matches at the qualifying tournament in Leeuwarden, in the Netherlands.

But a red on-ice advertisement for Dutch sex toy company EasyToys prompted a hasty rethink, with NHK pulling the plug on Japan’s opener against the United States on Sunday.

Broadcasts of subsequent matches, including against Latvia and Estonia, were also scrapped, along with Tuesday’s scheduled clash with New Zealand.

NHK said that the decision was taken to allow time to determine whether airing EasyToys’ logo violated its broadcasting guidelines.

“The guidelines call for caution over content that can have an effect on minors and there was a risk that it contravened good taste,” an NHK spokesperson said.

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