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Last chance to comment on plan for M-rated content at 7:30pm

Time is running out if you wish to have your say on a plan that would allow more nudity, violence and adult themes from 7:30pm.

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You only have until Friday to submit any opinions on proposed changes to the Commercial Television Code of Practice.

Commercial networks are pushing for M rated content to air from 7:30pm and MA15+ from 8:30pm while a separate AV classification, currently at 9:30pm, would be subsumed by MA15+. If approved, these could screen an hour earlier than at present.

If approved it would mean earlier and moderate broadcasts of violence, sex and nudity, language, drugs, suicide, adult themes, as early as 7:30pm and increasing in intensity from 8:30pm.

The proposal by FreeTV Australia comes at a time when ACMA data on children’s viewing indicates that highest viewing times for children is between 5 – 9pm, with 7pm the peak time.

Changes would also have impact on alcohol advertising and complaints surrounding News and Current Affairs.

FreeTV maintains the changes are about simplifying community safeguards.

A 6 week public consultation period closes on Friday if you wish to comment on the proposals

Submissions may be sent to Free TV Australia via post to
44 Avenue Road, Mosman NSW 2088
or via email to [email protected]

More information is at FreeTV website.

Any changes to the Code of Practice would still need to be approved by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

20 Responses

  1. I bet if it does happen and they have MA movies/shows on at 8:30 they won’t be too graphic in content. they probably won’t play anything horror related, and I bet they’ll still edit a couple things out dispite the MA rating at 8:30.

  2. Content at the MA 15+ level may, in practice, now be watched at any time of day in any Australian home with subscription television, an internet connection, a recording device or a DVD.
    Timezones are less relevant. As long as the classification is correct then why restrict FTA alone.

    1. Ah, I stand corrected. While most of the sets I checked yesterday were purchased post-2/11, they were exempt due to being models that existed before then.

  3. I reckon that this may sound right. TBBT at 7:30PM is mostly classified as PG but if 9 wanted to increase this to M-rated, then this may have to be done early. I reckon that ABC dramas may need to be pushed to M rated. Some kids may find some scenes quite disturbing and hurtful.

  4. I am disappointed that the majority of articles/comments on these changes focus on the rather inane aspect of allowing M rated content earlier.

    When the most damning parts of the proposal are to do with basically allowing News and Current Affairs programs to make stuff up with no consequences. I would much prefer journalists to focus on these points of the proposed changes 🙁

      1. I know it did David, but IMO the attention paid to that in the original article and here is not commiserate with the problem. You spent far more column space on the issue of time rather than the more pressing (IMO) issue of truth. Both in the original article and here. I cannot blame you for this, it is clear from the comments that this seems to be what people are most concerned about (after all, it is a little lascivious – boobies at 7:30 and all that 😉 ).

        But as I said in the original article, the suggested changes run to 63 pages! And often in confusing and sometimes in contradictory language. I think it would behove readers here to have that summarised for them by someone who has better knowledge of the industry than I.

  5. I can’t imagine there would be much backlash against these changes. Most kids are on their phones and tablets these days, connected to the internet, where much worse material can be found than whatever might pass for an M or MA15+ rating on the television.

  6. I could understand the complaints people are making if this was the year 2000 when no one had access to digital TV, but now everyone has digital TV and every receiver has a parental control feature. As long as all networks correctly classify programs in the EPG, a parent can set the parental control feature to only allow content to their satisfaction to be shown without a pin being required, if the parent/s want to watch something that requires a pin and the child is asleep, just enter the pin.

    1. “… and every receiver has a parental control feature.”

      They do? Not 3 of the 4 sets from 3 different brands that I just checked.

      It’s only been a requirement since (I think) 2012, and even then only if (again, IIRC) the manufacturers want to claim an appliance is AS4933-something compliant (which is not compulsory). And sending the correct (or any) rating in the relevant EIT field is (once again, IIRC) only voluntary on the part of the broadcasters.

  7. When I was a kid and Mum didn’t think a show was appropriate for us, we didn’t watch it. End of story. What happened to that?

    If you don’t want your children to watch a certain programme, don’t let them. Regardless of what time it is one, you’re the parent. It’s that simple.

  8. I think no, shoudnt be that early, the report even said kids stay up to 9, should be 8 can show M and 9 for MA we should change our channels to hour start time not half hour like the U.S.
    funny thing is underbelly was shown at 8:30 and that had nudity

    1. Nudity can be shown in pg rated TV, along with violence and coarse language, adult themes etc-it’s the level of these that changes between the categories, not absolutes of them.

    2. As Chuck128 pointed out, nudity is permitted at *all* classification categories, as is drug use, violence, coarse language, adult themes and sexual content, however, the viewing impact must be very mild at the G level, mild at PG, moderate at M and strong at MA15+ and AV15+.

      Naturalistic nudity, including depictions of breastfeeding, babies and tribes in which nudity is socially acceptable are permitted at G, as well as brief depictions of rear nudity, however, networks tend to slap a PG or an M on any programme with nudity just to be on the safe side. Full frontal nudity is permitted at PG in an educational or medical context, and breast nudity is generally permitted, however, television networks and even the ACB have become more strict where breast nudity is concerned over the past 10 years or so. Years ago, breast nudity was perfectly okay at PG and higher categories were reserved…

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