Premium Cable Movies censored? (1 Viewer)

[Colton]

I was watching Spun on Showtime (or Cinemax) and noticed that alot of the scenes were blurred/censored. Doesn't this defeat the whole purpose of paying for premium movie channels? That really pissed me off. Also, this was showing at 10:00 pm. What the hell is up with that?

- Colton

 

[Kyle McKnight]

That sucks. I never noticed anything like that before. BTW, here's a link to the TV section.

 

[TravisR]

I think Spun was released in an R rated version and an unrated version. They were probably playing the R rated one (which still sucks but is an explanation).

 

[WillG]

But even a R rated version would not use blurring to censor out stuff. It just would not be in the cut. Please don't tell me that premium cable networks are starting to self-censor because of fear of the FCC. If it was cinemax, I believe that they get lumped into many packages unlike HBO for instance. Do they still show their "Skinemax" material?

 

[Alex Wagner]

The R-Rated version of Spun does blur and bleep things out. I rented it from blockbuster. so thats what they were probably playing

 

[TravisR]

Just like in the R rated version of Storytelling, where a black bar goes over top of people having sex.

The FCC has no jurisdiction over cable so it's not fear of that.

 

[CharlesD]

But various politicians are making noises about the FCC regulating cable and the new FCC Chairman is not opposed to expanding the Government's regulatory role to include cable. Whether this is just grandstanding or whether such a proposal has much chance of becoming reality is a different question, but the idea is on the table.

 

[Marty M]

Colton, you're not from Utah are you? I have subscribed to Starz and HBO for years and I haven't noticed anything like this.

 

[Jon Martin]

As mentioned, SPUN was released in both R and unrated versions.

Showtime (part of the Viacom / Blockbuster family) is one of the more conservative of cable stations. They would only show the R rated version of SHOWGIRLS. They don't show NC-17 movies(although they do show the truly terrible scripted "reality" show FAMILY BUSINESS which goes pretty far). Go figure.

 

[Colton]

Family Business was scripted? Didn't know that. Yes, you are right - they did show the R version. I need to go purchase the unrated DVD of SPUN. Very good movie.

- Colton