ABC gets hit with 1.4 million dollar fine from the FCC
01-26-08, 12:24 PM
#1
DVD Talk Hero
Thread Starter
ABC gets hit with 1.4 million dollar fine from the FCC
For the NYPD Blue episode from 5 years ago where Theo walked in on Connie getting into the shower (Charlotte Ross
)
Nudity may cost ABC $1.4 million
From Times Wire Services
January 26, 2008
The Federal Communications Commission said Friday that it planned to fine Walt Disney Co.'s ABC network $1.4 million for airing an episode of "NYPD Blue" in 2003 that showed a woman's nude buttocks.
The company said it opposed the fine and planned to appeal.
The FCC said it was seeking $27,500 for each of 52 stations in the Central and Mountain time zones that aired the scene in the 9 to 10 p.m. time slot in violation of federal restrictions against broadcasting "obscene material" between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
The agency has waged a battle against broadcast indecency under Chairman Kevin J. Martin. In October 2006, Congress authorized a tenfold increase in such fines. Broadcasters' use of public airwaves subjects them to more regulation than cable channels.
The FCC said it received "numerous complaints" about the scene, in which a young boy walks in on a nude woman about to take a shower.
Stations in the Eastern and Pacific zones won't be fined because they aired the episode in the 10 to 11 p.m. slot, local time.
ABC said in a statement that it had broadcast the episode and others from the police drama, which ran from 1993 to 2005, with appropriate parental warnings and with V-chip-enabled program ratings when they were available.
"ABC feels strongly that the FCC's finding is inconsistent with prior precedent from the commission, the indecency statute and the 1st Amendment," network spokeswoman Julie Hoover said.
"The law is simple," FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate said. "If a broadcaster makes the decision to show indecent programming, it must air between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. This is neither difficult to understand nor burdensome to implement.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...1,697784.story
It took them 5 years to decide this
) Nudity may cost ABC $1.4 million
From Times Wire Services
January 26, 2008
The Federal Communications Commission said Friday that it planned to fine Walt Disney Co.'s ABC network $1.4 million for airing an episode of "NYPD Blue" in 2003 that showed a woman's nude buttocks.
The company said it opposed the fine and planned to appeal.
The FCC said it was seeking $27,500 for each of 52 stations in the Central and Mountain time zones that aired the scene in the 9 to 10 p.m. time slot in violation of federal restrictions against broadcasting "obscene material" between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
The agency has waged a battle against broadcast indecency under Chairman Kevin J. Martin. In October 2006, Congress authorized a tenfold increase in such fines. Broadcasters' use of public airwaves subjects them to more regulation than cable channels.
The FCC said it received "numerous complaints" about the scene, in which a young boy walks in on a nude woman about to take a shower.
Stations in the Eastern and Pacific zones won't be fined because they aired the episode in the 10 to 11 p.m. slot, local time.
ABC said in a statement that it had broadcast the episode and others from the police drama, which ran from 1993 to 2005, with appropriate parental warnings and with V-chip-enabled program ratings when they were available.
"ABC feels strongly that the FCC's finding is inconsistent with prior precedent from the commission, the indecency statute and the 1st Amendment," network spokeswoman Julie Hoover said.
"The law is simple," FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate said. "If a broadcaster makes the decision to show indecent programming, it must air between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. This is neither difficult to understand nor burdensome to implement.
It took them 5 years to decide this
01-26-08, 01:27 PM
#7
DVD Talk God
I vaguely remember that scene and I thought it was pretty funny.
The show had a fucking parental discretion disclaimer before episode and warned about partial nudity! Isn't that enough! The FCC needs to get the bat out of their asses.
The show had a fucking parental discretion disclaimer before episode and warned about partial nudity! Isn't that enough! The FCC needs to get the bat out of their asses.
01-26-08, 01:55 PM
#9
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Since Central and Mountain primetime is always an hour before Pacific and Eastern, by this ruling shouldn't they be able to fine ABC for EVERY NAKED BUTT on NYPD Blue from David Caruso to Sherry Stringfield to Amy Brenneman to Jimmy Smits to Kim Delany to Sharon Lawrence to John Wesley Shipp to... Dennis Franz?
This is more than stupid.
This is more than stupid.
01-26-08, 02:14 PM
#10
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by mhg83
its okay to show people getting killed but you show a few seconds of natural nudity you're going straight to hell!
Simply, that actor is not really getting shot, but that actress is actually naked. So one is reality, the other is fantasy.
It's stupid, but I have always thought that's the subconscious distinction.
01-26-08, 02:17 PM
#11
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More culture of fear...
Violence scares people - see it enough on tv people get in the back of their head that it could happen to them - and thus we are constantly reminded "why we need [the government]"
Naked women make people happy - see it enough on tv and people will start to think they might have some fun in the shower too. We don't need the government to make that happen.
Violence scares people - see it enough on tv people get in the back of their head that it could happen to them - and thus we are constantly reminded "why we need [the government]"
Naked women make people happy - see it enough on tv and people will start to think they might have some fun in the shower too. We don't need the government to make that happen.
01-26-08, 03:17 PM
#13
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by Draven
Violence on network TV is fake - no one is actually getting hurt. It's just special effects. Nudity is real. I mean, the boobs might be fake but it ain't no special effect.
Simply, that actor is not really getting shot, but that actress is actually naked. So one is reality, the other is fantasy.
It's stupid, but I have always thought that's the subconscious distinction.
Simply, that actor is not really getting shot, but that actress is actually naked. So one is reality, the other is fantasy.
It's stupid, but I have always thought that's the subconscious distinction.
01-26-08, 03:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Draven
Violence on network TV is fake - no one is actually getting hurt. It's just special effects. Nudity is real. I mean, the boobs might be fake but it ain't no special effect.
Simply, that actor is not really getting shot, but that actress is actually naked. So one is reality, the other is fantasy.
It's stupid, but I have always thought that's the subconscious distinction.
Simply, that actor is not really getting shot, but that actress is actually naked. So one is reality, the other is fantasy.
It's stupid, but I have always thought that's the subconscious distinction.
I don't buy this explanation. If there was a Skinamax-style simulated sex act on network television with the key body parts not exposed to the camera, the fantasy argument wouldn't apply - there would be an uproar by the prudes.
01-26-08, 04:08 PM
#17
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Originally Posted by Draven
Violence on network TV is fake - no one is actually getting hurt. It's just special effects. Nudity is real. I mean, the boobs might be fake but it ain't no special effect.
Simply, that actor is not really getting shot, but that actress is actually naked. So one is reality, the other is fantasy.
It's stupid, but I have always thought that's the subconscious distinction.
Simply, that actor is not really getting shot, but that actress is actually naked. So one is reality, the other is fantasy.
It's stupid, but I have always thought that's the subconscious distinction.
I don't think so.
01-26-08, 04:28 PM
#18
Originally Posted by das Monkey
Dear FCC,
Fuck you, you fucking fucks.
Sincerely,
Planet Earth
Fuck you, you fucking fucks.
Sincerely,
Planet Earth
Note one internet dollar has a value equal to 1/10000000000 US dollars.
01-26-08, 04:30 PM
#19
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by UAIOE
Evidently people in Mountain and Central time don't take showers naked and were appalled at the sight.
01-26-08, 04:36 PM
#20
DVD Talk Legend
The FCC decision says the fine is because "obscenity" isn't allowed between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Since when is a bare ass in a nonsexual situation "obscene"?
Using that logic then, explicit but simulated sex scenes would be OK because the sex isn't real. So, the average Skinamax movie is OK for primetime.
I disagree with the "we" part of it. The U.S. is, however, filled with busybodies who think they know what's best for the rest of us.
Originally Posted by Draven
Violence on network TV is fake - no one is actually getting hurt. It's just special effects. Nudity is real. I mean, the boobs might be fake but it ain't no special effect.
Simply, that actor is not really getting shot, but that actress is actually naked. So one is reality, the other is fantasy.
It's stupid, but I have always thought that's the subconscious distinction.
Simply, that actor is not really getting shot, but that actress is actually naked. So one is reality, the other is fantasy.
It's stupid, but I have always thought that's the subconscious distinction.
Originally Posted by boredsilly
How did we get to be so fucking uptight? Wait, don't answer that.
01-26-08, 04:43 PM
#21
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Originally Posted by Mr. Salty
I disagree with the "we" part of it. The U.S. is, however, filled with busybodies who think they know what's best for the rest of us.
The problem is the inherent setup of the FCC. They hear complaints and act. Nobody (the majority) is going to write them to say they approve of nudity or violence or whatever on television. Therefore, they are only hearing from the prudes who disapprove of something and in the internet era with the Parents Television Council making it easy for people to fill in form-letter-complaints, it's gotten to be re-goddamn-diculous.
01-26-08, 04:51 PM
#22
DVD Talk Legend
Here's what I don't get -- there have been several court rulings that have explicitly said that the buttocks do not count as genetalia. How can anything in this video count as nudity???
I mean, sure, it is hot, but...
I mean, sure, it is hot, but...
01-26-08, 04:53 PM
#23
DVD Talk Legend
Stations in the Eastern and Pacific zones won't be fined because they aired the episode in the 10 to 11 p.m. slot, local time.
It is weird that the Moutain and Central zones air episodes an hour earlier. Why do they do that? Not that I am complaining.
01-26-08, 05:06 PM
#24
DVD Talk God
Originally Posted by Draven
Violence on network TV is fake - no one is actually getting hurt. It's just special effects. Nudity is real. I mean, the boobs might be fake but it ain't no special effect.
Simply, that actor is not really getting shot, but that actress is actually naked. So one is reality, the other is fantasy.
It's stupid, but I have always thought that's the subconscious distinction.
Simply, that actor is not really getting shot, but that actress is actually naked. So one is reality, the other is fantasy.
It's stupid, but I have always thought that's the subconscious distinction.
This is a ridiculous post. While you are correct in your reasoning, it still doesn't explain away the FCC's ridiculous double standard when it comes to violence and nudity on television. What a fucking worthless waste of taxpayer money to have the morality police investigating stuff like this.
01-26-08, 05:12 PM
#25
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Originally Posted by NCMojo
Here's what I don't get -- there have been several court rulings that have explicitly said that the buttocks do not count as genetalia. How can anything in this video count as nudity???
I mean, sure, it is hot, but...
I mean, sure, it is hot, but...
Wow I don't watch much TV anymore but Wow!!