The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found Channel Ten morning show Studio 10 in breach of its the broadcasting code of practice after the PG show aired two small images that showed “a man is depicted from a rear side-angle with an erect penis in blurry silhouette”.

The man was actor Rob Lowe, and the segment, which aired on January 1, 2016, was a roundup of significant events in 1988. Entertainment reporter Angela Bishop presented the segment, which broadcast, for 19 seconds, a large shot of Lowe behind two small images of “a number of people on or near a bed”.

“Both these smaller images are low resolution and appear to have been captured from video footage,” the investigation report reads. Mind you, not so small that no one noticed — ACMA says it got a complaint in March 2016.

Studio Ten is classified PG, which means it can only show “restrained” depictions of sex and nudity suitable for children to watch with supervision. ACMA didn’t think Studio 10 met this threshold, and breached the classification part of the code.

In its submission to ACMA, Ten blamed human error, saying it generally sought advice from the classification department before broadcasting that kind of stuff. The show’s EP has spoken to staff about it, and “Network Ten has also taken steps to ensure the segment will not be broadcast again or made available on the Studio 10 website”. — Myriam Robin