(05-08-2013 16:41 )Scottishbloke Wrote: [ -> ]...
My take on all of this is that Nightshows should start at 9PM. By that I mean they should start proper. I am somewhat confused as to how Studio66 claim to have moved their nightshow to a new start time of 2130.
...
The rules have always talked about a gradual transition, not an abrupt flip. I have some sympathy for the argument that it takes a few minutes to shoo Gran out of the room, BUT the rules should be applied impartially, should be knowable, and should be proportionate.
A few years back Channel 4 had a 9pm documentary about pole dancers and was showing tits in an erotic context within 30 seconds of the watershed. Ofcom ruled that it was in context and viewers were warned. There have been more recent examples of inconsistency. This is despite the major channels having much larger audiences, having inertia audiences, and their fruity content being well publicised.
Knowable? These days the rules do state when tits can be shown (10pm) and when gestures and language can be stronger (midnight), but the limits on acceptable gestures and language are not defined. Nowhere is it defined what clothing is acceptable when, apart from toplessness. Just a vague reference to offence. So the rules fail a basic test for the validity of law.
Proportionate? I don't see the BBC being called in for a detailed compliance meeting over a nip slip or their repeated broadcast of the F word during the daytime.
Look at other breaches in the same bulletin for consistency:
Murder Files: The Sketchbook Killer (Channel 5) 20:00-21:00
Images of a hammer murder. A woman being tied to a bed, tortured, including an attempt to rip her tongue out. Images of a man holding a gun to a womans head. A clip of a woman pulling a bicycle over herself for protection, accompanied by a description of her being attacked, with injuries to her lung, thigh and loss of a finger. A shortened reconstruction of a hammer attack. Photographs of body bags. Etc.
Ofcom quote their own research saying prewatershed violence causes as much concern as sexually explicit content and offensive language (15 percent).
Five argued that the show only attracted 2% of the child audience.
Despite this Ofcom did no more than rule that the show broke scheduling rules. No compliance meeting. No warning about not doing it again.
Inside Hollywood (5 USA) 18:55
This contained sexual scenes in clips from a film trailer "a woman being held down by a man". While "there was no nudity, but the clear impression was of the couple having sex, possibly against the woman’s will" - in other words apparent rape. Five admitted an editing mistake. Again, Ofcom ruled they had broken the rule, no more.
Fight Night Live (Sky Sports 1) 20:00
The first 6 minutes contained repetitive flash photography. Well established rules state that audiences must be warned, for the simple reason that repetitive flashes can trigger epileptic seizures. These can have serious medical consequences. "Ofcom was concerned that, in circumstances where there was the potential to cause serious harm..." Genuine risk of actual bodily harm from a well documented medical condition. They did at least record this as a "serious" breach, but took no further action.
In the Alice In Wonderland world that Ofcom inhabits, a breach by a large broadcaster with an audience of millions is repeatedly treated more leniently than a breach by a broadcaster 100s of times smaller, late at night, with a small self selecting audience.
Ofcom are just digging a hole for themselves with each bizarre ruling.
...
a bit too much information for my liking if you get my drift 
