The accuracy of political polls and how they are presented is in the spotlight this election year with the Broadcasting Standards Authority today ruling against a television network.

The BSA found TVWorks Ltd had breached a broadcasting standard in its TV3 reporting of a poll on December 16.

The news item presented poll results and explained how they would translate into seats in Parliament.

Complainant Dean Knight said the item was inaccurate and he calculated that the results would give ACT and United Future one seat each not the two in the news report.

Mr Knight said while the error was numerically minor it related to one of "the most significant constitutional matters in the country".

He said even minor errors could influence the public.

TVWorks said the poll gave a snapshot rather than a prediction of the next Parliament. It said the discrepancies were not significant.

The network said overall the item was accurate, sufficiently explanatory and gave adequate guidance to viewers.

The BSA did not accept the item was accurate: "It is not sufficient for a broadcaster to argue that a mistake was not significant."

It made no order.