Anyone remember the family hour in television programming? What’s left of it just may have been canceled out by a court.
The FCC indecency regulations were shrunk by a federal appeals court that called them “unconstitutionally vague.” This means that in the future Americans can look forward to even more sex, profanity, and family unfriendly fare on the little screen.
Broadcast television was already planning on further decimating the boundaries in the upcoming fall season with a profanity laden CBS program, “$#*! My Dad Says” and a promiscuous sex sitcom from NBC called “Friends With Benefits.”
Cable television has been successful with a flurry of programming unsuitable for families, partially because it is not under FCC jurisdiction. Even non-premium cable channels such as FX routinely air shows that push the envelope, while premium cable networks such as HBO and Showtime are specializing in lurid adult-oriented lineups.
Adding to the littered media landscape is the ever-growing Internet video programming.
The resulting mix is a formula for television execs to cave in to the competitive pressure and provide an assist to the declining culture.
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