Viewers Give Their Support To TV Watershed
Television viewers have given their support to the watershed system of programme regulation and have expressed concern over the rising levels of adult content during mainstream soap operas.
New research from the BBC, the Broadcasting Standards Commission and the Independent Television Commission shows that the majority of viewers are in favour of the watershed principle and are opposed to the idea of shifting to an unregulated system along the lines of the internet.
The report revealed that 95% of viewers believe that the watershed should be maintained to prevent children from being exposed to unsuitable material such as sex, violence and swearing. However, they expressed concern that some soap operas were trying to push the boundaries of what could be shown before the 9pm cut-off.
Earlier this year the BSC noted the rising levels of violence and offensive language on television in general and pointed to an increase in complaints about the content of soaps broadcast before the 9 o’clock watershed (see TV Watchdog Warns Against Rise In Soap Violence).
Awareness of the watershed was found to be high and the majority of respondents believed it to be a useful guide for attempting to monitor what their children watch. There was also an acceptance that programmes scheduled after 9pm would gradually become more adult in tone, for example 18 certificates are not permitted for broadcast until 10pm.
Children aged between 8 and 12 were believed to be the most impressionable and vulnerable to influence from television content. However, parents claimed that the viewing habits of younger children are easier to control.
Paul Bolt, director of the Broadcasting Standards Commission, recently argued that cinema-style classifications should be introduced for television programmes. He said that viewers should receive the type of warnings that come with computer games, videos, DVDs and at the cinemas (see TV Programmes Should Have Cinema-Style Ratings).
BSC: 020 7233 0544 www.bsc.org.uk ITC: 0207 306 7743 www.itc.org.uk
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