Ofcom slaps MTV with £255k fine Ofcom has imposed fines totalling £255,000 on MTV Networks for various breaches of the Broadcasting Code on channels TMF, MTV France, MTV UK and MTV Hits. The network was charged with several infractions of the Code, viz: Rule 1.3: “Children must also be protected by appropriate scheduling from material that is unsuitable for …
Just the cost of doing business in the Blighty as far as MTV is concerned. F***, Double F****, Qudruple F****, Octuple F*** as long as it brings advertising revenue and promotion of music whose only merit is the gratuitous use of F***.
So all in all, this is a pseudopenalty. It needs at least a zero at the end for the F*** at MT F***ing V to give a F***.
a few minor vocal indescretions by a (fairly) minority TV channel warrants immediate action.
Whereas...
allegations of mass illegal telecommunications interception by one of the worlds biggest telco's warrants immediate hand-wringing and procrastination all round.
Priorities.
All
Wrong
Here
Ofcom.
(but not surprising really)
Why is it that when four viewers complain about something, OFCOM sits up and takes notice ... but when it comes to something IMPORTANT that the whole country objects to, like unnecessary use of 0870 and broadband suppliers misrepresenting their service as UNLIMITED when it isn't, OFCOM just sits back and does very little?
No adult content before the watershed? Fair enough, bleep* it out or don't broadcast it. But what really annoys me is the censoring that happens AFTER the watershed! When my favourite heavy metal band release a video containing nudity, profanity and violence, I expect to be able to watch it in all its satanic glory, after 9pm.
* Is it just me or are the bleeps getting shorter? What used to be ********** is now just muthaf*cker
how about some hefty fines for those 4 viewers for such a waste of ofcom time (who have better thing to do then listening to complains from peoples who have way to much time on their hands). it is like those poor (probably very religious) souls spend a lot of time watching TV just to find some stuff to complain about.
Another good thing will be the publish the name of totally clueless clowns. So MTV viewers who will be subject to lower quality MTV because of censoring, will have the name of peoples who are responcible for it. (a good deterrent for clueless complainers will be the have them deal with the MAJORITY of peoples who have they MTV ruined because 0.000000000000000000000000001% of the viewers complained,.
Democracy? Where?
The maturity level displayed in the majority of these comments is truly saddening and pathetic. I am not offended by words. As George Carlin pointed out many years ago, they're just words, they can't be good or bad. It's the context and intent which is good or bad. Having said that, I find it sad that so many people can't compose a single sentence without some measure of profanity, usually some variation of the word "fuck". It used to be that the word was used for emphasis, such as "I don't fucking care" which tends to convey more emotion than simply "I don't care". Nowadays, the word has lost its power and is relegated to complete overuse to join "like" ("so, like, i said 'no way', and she was, like, 'yeah way', and i was like, who did you, like, hear that from?") and "you know" ("well, you know, I just didn't want to... uh, you know, do something wrong, you know? I just want to be left alone, you know?").
As for MTV -- didn't they stop broadcasting music about 13 years ago? Or was it just non-rap, non-R&B that they stopped broadcasting?
"4 people complained"
"2 viewers complained"
"a viewer complained"
Is it me, or is it a very small minority of (probably the same) whining bastards who bother to complain, while the rest of us just quite simply couldn't give a fuck?
Really, if you want to find a truly offensive program, complain about Eastenders. It offends me because it's fucking shit.
"If the idea of protecting kids from adult content offends you, my suggestion would be to live somewhere else."
If you can find a place which isn't run by insane nannyists, where the powers that be understand that a kid hearing a particular four-letter, one-syllable word actually doesn't cause the slightest harm or make a blind bit of difference to anyone, then please feel free to list it.
Whatever the channel, profanity during the day is not necessary - sure, if your kids are watching MTV, don't be surprised if they grow up brain dead sex maniacs with the attention span of a gnat - but f'ing around during adverts in the middle of the day is just dumb. And the endless "you don't have to watch" brigade strike me as ex-MTV viewers who can't think beyond a knee jerk response - the whole point of any watershed is that it guarantees that you CAN watch beforehand without expecting swearing. However, you still have to listen to the crap music and simulated fucking on the videos......
The level of stupidity displayed in this thread is far beyond the average for el reg. To begin with number of complaints isn't the reason they are fined, it is used as a reason for Ofcom to investigate said complaint and see if they breached broadcasting guidelines. People complain en masse for some programs, and Ofcoms ignores them because they havn't done anything technically wrong. There is no way for Ofcom to monitor all content broadcast, so this is the best available.
Similary people tend not to complain at all, and so when even 4 do, that represents a sizable number, especially for something like mtv, and I doubt any 14 year olds will be doing the complaining. Compare to complaints for adverts, where the average number of complaints to get an advert pulled is 1.3 (I think).
For the comments saying 'if it offends you, don't watch it' well this is utter nonce, by this stance all programs should broadcast whatever they want, and if it offends you turn over, nevermind the children watching.
MTV has had to bleep four-letter words over here in the States since its inception. Why would they have a hard time across the pond? Perhaps all the cursing was driving up ratings amongst the youngsters? Fortunately over here, that's accomplished by featuring a bunch of degenerate coeds on MTV's so-called "reality" shows. I certainly feel better knowing that while our kids' watch a bunch of oversexed 20-somethings act out their dysfunctional "relationships", they won't be exposed to any cursing - those words could really mess them up, right? O_o
OK, I'll invent a time machine and travel back in time to before the offensive words, because I couldn't know they were going to be there BECAUSE IT WAS BEFORE THE FUCKING WATERSHED AND THAT'S THE FUCKING POINT OF IT
.
.
.
*ahem*
Agree 100% with the comment that if it's after the watershed, they shouldn't bloody bleep out the swearing. Especially for stuff like Eminem's Stan - the censored version of that is made for the american market, and blanks out all references to violence, leaving the vocal track pretty much non-existent...
For what it's worth, I probably agree with the general principles of the watershed. E.g. the principal that there's a time and a place for 18 cert films. And 9pm is where we've decided to draw a line.
Admittedly, 4 people really doesn't seem like a lot, but why should their opinions be ignored? If it's sufficient enough for instigating an investigation, so be it.
EXCEPT!... Swear words are a convenient scapegoat. They're quantative. Draw up a list of bad words and body parts and ban 'em on TV before a set time. But no-one has the guts to draw lines when it comes to making qualitative decisions. We're aiming at the wrong target.
So something like "I BURIED MY ABORTED BABY IN THE GARDEN WITH A SPOON" (actual headline on the front of Bella, or whatever mag it was) is OK. On a coffee table, exposed to young kids who are unable to put the confusing, heavy duty (to a child) content it into it's proper context. There are tens of other examples - just on the same magazine shelf - every day. Words like rape, murder, abortion etc are cheapened and blunted in the name of reporting "Real Life" "True Stories", wheras alternative words for procreation, bodily functions, and the like are asterisked or bleeped out as if edited by giggling schoolkids.
And The Sun (a "family paper") is OK to print tits aplenty every day, but they're not allowed on the telly before 9pm.
Principle of protecting kids from "adult themes": Correct.
Wholesale implementation: Critically flawed. As per pretty much everything else in the dysfunctional UK of A. Methinks 'continental Europe' might not be perfect, but it's often able to make value judgements without getting all kneejerk so as to be seen to be "doing something" (whilst actually avoiding the wider issue).
Aside: "Paki bastard" could be heard on the STV early evening news the other day. Ostensibly in the name of reporting the news of a racist attack, but at 6pm, I'd have said it was a little unnecessary when "oral sex" or "masturbation" are invariably (cringingly) referred to as "a sex act".
My son is now 8. When he was about 4, he would repeat these words that he never heard from his parents, to see their reaction (none). Since about age 6, he will have a little snigger when he hears a sweary word, and then promptly get on with his life.
When are OfCom gonna grow some proper fucking bollocks and whip these lying ISP cunts into shape? ;-p
And when are they going to put a watershed on this tinternet thing? Honestly the wankfuck cuntbag language on hear is appalling before 9pm. Fucking arse-candles.
At first I thought that we were dealing with a small group of complainers, and then I realized, if 3 or 4 people at a time are calling in to complain about MTV. That's probably 100% of the viewership for such a program. MTV should change it's name to Ill-thought out and poorly executed "reailty" dating show television, but I guess that's too many letters.
[Oh FuCk Offensive Material], as an association really should consider the wider implications ... looking like a bunch of f**kwits whilst claiming to protect the sensitive souls of this country (no, that's not a pathetic "think of the children" - comment, it's a total mind f**k "pander to the f**king assholes who have nothing better to do with their pathetic f**king lives but complain about the f**king language on a f**king "yoof" program that no f**ker in their right f**king mind will watch" - comment). Children swear, adults swear... I bet if you could translate dolphin they'd be saying, "why is there so much f**king human shit in this f**king water? I can't see f**k all... oh f**k it, I missed that f**king tuna".
No icon - I'm too f**king angry.
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