BEIRUT: The National Audiovisual Media Council Wednesday denounced the airing by Lebanese television stations of what it called “inappropriate programs” that include sexual content, asking them to restrict broadcast of such shows to after 10:30 p.m.

According to the media body, several Lebanese television networks have recently been competing by airing programs about sex. “Such shows are, in reality, not aimed at education, but only provide superficial information to the public to attract more viewers,” said a statement from the council.

“The council calls on all local stations to stop broadcasting such programs before 10:30 p.m. and to not air reruns of the programs during the day. This warning is in accordance with the Audiovisual Media Law 382 of 1994,” the statement added.

The statement also detailed several shows on local stations that are in violation of the council’s law, including a program currently shown on LBCI entitled Lezim Taaref (“You should know,”) which is anchored by two medical and psychology experts and addresses issues related to sex.

“In one episode, the anchors of the program talked about orgies, oral sex and anal sex,” said the statement from the council.

The statement added that, according to Article 3 of Chapter 4 of the National Audiovisual Media Council’s guidelines, television stations are not allowed to air advertisements of shows with “sexual content” before 9:30 p.m.

This is not the first time the council has issued a warning to local stations regarding the airing of programs with sexual content. In a stronger statement several months ago, the council called on LBCI, MTV, Future TV and OTV to review the content of their social and political shows before airing them.

The National Audiovisual Media Council also warned the stations that any failure to abide by the guidelines would mean their broadcasting licenses were not eligible for renewal.

However, none of the local stations have heeded the council’s warnings since then.