is the "s-word" allowed on tv now? (1 Viewer)

[DustinLC]

Is the s-word allowed here? Or only after 10pm?

 

[Kevin T]

shit if i know. read the forum rules.

kevin t

 

[Eric C D]

On the Internet, it's always after 10pm somewhere.

 

[RobertR]

 

[Linda Thompson]

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/complain.html

Two excerpts:

 

[Will_B]

That's the same reason why it's ok to walk across your lawn, go into your neighbor's house and raid his 'fridge. Because it is "reasonably ancillary" to your own house.

 

[andrew markworthy]

It's already happened in the UK. The s-word, the f-word, the c-word are all regularly said on mainstream TV (yep, even on the BBC - or rather, especially on the BBC). The watershed time is in theory 9.00, but the s-word (especially in the form 'bulls**t') could be broadcast before this time without too much trouble.

So far UK society has survived hearing what is normal everyday language broadcast back at them. I imagine it'll be the same for you guys as well.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

I was going to say, I was surprised that shit is specifically not allowed on US TV. I guess Canuck broadcast TV rules are a lot more lenient. Actually, I don't think we have anything other than guidlines. Stations do what they think people will accept.

 

[TravisR]

When I finally saw The Office, I was surprised to hear the curse words that were in the show. I just assumed that since it was on the BBC that their language standards were close or the same as the US.

And not to politicize the thread but the United States is NOT going in a more lenient direction with regards to what's 'acceptable' on broadcast television.

 

[Mort Corey]

I don't consider myself prudish in any way, but the cable show Deadwood is a little too much for me.

Mort

 

[Kevin Hewell]

I watched "Oz" for five years so "Deadwood" doesn't faze me all that much.

 

[MishaLauenstein]

The first time I heard it on a US network was when Bernard Goetz said it on 20/20.

Seems to me that would've been after 10:00 pm.

 

[Eric F]

Robin Williams said "shit" on Regis & Kelly last week. Was about 9:30am.

 

[ThomasC]

HBO is premium cable, so they can show anything they want all the time.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I guess I don't understand why. You pay for cable too. If the FCC is going to assert authority over THAT, it seems that the premimum channels would be the next logical step.

 

[Paul Sandhu]

Here in Canada on CITY-TV they movies have profanity all the time. They come on at 9 PM. And we get some stations that are based in the east but some of their movies come on here in the west at 7 PM and they even have nudity! Thats on fridays of course.

 

[TravisR]

Adam, the FCC only has the ability to control what's broadcast over the air. Cable isn't broadcast over the air so it's safe.

Although recently, a Senator (who was just blatantly trying to curry the favor of some voters and advance his political career) was trying to give the FCC authority over cable TV and satellite radio but the likelihood of that actually passing is extremely small at best. It might even already be dead in the water.

 

[Michael Harris]

There is also a big difference between basic and premium cable. Basic is normally sold in packages of channels and you get stuff you may, or may not, want. Premium channels are normally bought a la carte and rely on the subscription fees. If viewers are shocked by, for example, HBO's content, they can easily cancel it. If enough do it, HBO would get the message. A threat to cancel all of ones cable service could be seen as hollow, given the huge base subscribers. These days, cable seems to be treated by consumers as an essential utility rather then an option.

Any channel I don't watch, such as all the shopping ones, I just program my TV to skip.

I wonder, considering the fight for it, how many people use the V chip? Anyone know?

 

[TravisR]

Apparently zero people are using the V chip since TV still has to be monitored so closely

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

What's funny is when they come on earlier and the films are edited for the first half-hour -- they never cut out shit, but before 9:00 they blank out the f-word. And they never run the m-f word, but they usually just blank out the 'mother' part, which is funny by itself.

In the olden days, before City-TV moved to channel 57 (they were up in the 80s previously), they ran the Baby Blue Movie on Fridays, but in the last 20 years they've toned down a bit.