A local TV station in Venezuela is being punished for broadcasting cartoon show The Simpsons during a morning slot reserved for children's programmes.

Regulators are forcing Televen to show public service films as an apology for broadcasting the dysfunctional family's animated adventures at 1100.

The National Telecommunications Commission said Homer and Bart were "inappropriate" for the time slot.

Televen removed the show and replaced it with Baywatch Hawaii.

The commission said it would choose short segments, including two 30-second "cultural and educational messages" per day, that the station must broadcast for 30 days as a sanction.

Venezuelan TV is known for filling its schedules with re-runs of old US series and Latin American soap operas.

It also includes a talk show hosted by the country's president, Hugo Chavez.

The Simpsons have returned to Televen in the evening after being yanked from the channel's line-up in April.

From BBC