Ofcom has rejected a complaint from BrewDog over a BBC documentary about James Watt, the brewer’s chief executive.
BrewDog had claimed it was treated unfairly throughout the BBC documentary ‘The Truth About BrewDog’, which aired in late January.
Complaints by the company were that the programme focused on allegations of inappropriate behaviour against Watt, as well as the focus on his personal investments in the likes of Heineken and a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands.
However, Ofcom ruled on Monday night that the BBC’s right to freedom of expression outweighed Watt’s right to privacy.
“While the information related to his personal financial investments, we did not consider that this information was particularly sensitive given that it related more to his professional and business reputation, rather than his private and family life,” Ofcom found.
“Material facts” were not presented, disregarded or omitted, in a way that was unfair to Watt and BrewDog, Ofcom added.
The documentary looked into BrewDog’s marketing strategy and corporate practices, which Watt previously described as a “vendetta” against the company.
“We welcome the Ofcom decision,” a BBC spokesperson said. “Throughout the process, we have stood by the accuracy and fairness of our journalism.”
“The regulator states itself that its role was not to determine the factual accuracy of the programme,” a BrewDog spokesperson said, meanwhile.
“The BBC’s documentary contains numerous inaccuracies and misrepresentations, so we disagree with Ofcom’s findings that the BBC took reasonable care.”