TV Violence On The Increase, Says BSC Report

Almost 50% of people are concerned about standards on television although only small numbers of programmes contain incidents ranked as “significant” by respondents. These are the findings of a new survey conducted by the Broadcasting Standards Commission.

Only 5% of programmes were felt to contain a significant amount of violence; 4% had notable levels of “strong” language; and 2.5% of programmes were thought to contain explicit sex scenes. Audiences felt that the majority of incidents, particularly those after the Watershed, were justified within their editorial context.

However there has been an increase in the amount of violence shown on television, according to the report which covered the period from 1993 to 1999. A total 692 scenes of fictional violence were recorded during 1999, 68% of which were considered realistic. This compares with 62% the previous year.

Scenes of real violence were also on the increase, due in part to footage from the Kosovo conflict.

Broadcasting Standards Commission: 020 7233 0544 Read the full report at: www.bsc.org.uk