Perdita
18-02-2009, 06:55
The shocking rise in obscene language, pornographic images and phone-in scams on British television was laid bare today as new figures revealed a tenfold rise in punishment fines paid by broadcasters.
TV companies have been hit with record fines of £4.7million for breaching broadcasting rules last year, new figures reveal.
Critics claim the punishment payments are fresh evidence of plummeting standards on our screens.
Only last month the BBC was branded 'institutionally indecent' for broadcasting adult film actor Ron Jeremy describing in graphic detail lewd acts he wanted to perform on Hollywood star Lindsay Lohan and her lesbian lover.
The Tories revealed that fines issued by broadcasting regulator Ofcom had soared from £452,500 in 2004 to a staggering £4.7million last year - a rise of 1,000 per cent.
Among the programmes fined last year included Ant and Dec's Gameshow Marathon, the prime-time show broadcast by LWT, which was fined £1.2million for choosing competition winners who sounded 'lively'.
And ITV was also fined £1.2million after Soapstar Superstar, a reality singing competition for soap operas, was caught out with the production team overriding the song choices voted for by viewers and closing voting lines early.
Adult TV channel Television X was fined £25,000 for broadcasting two naked presenters 'engaging in very explicit sexual acts' during an unencrypted freeview of its programmes.
The BBC was also forced to make a grovelling apology for broadcasting celebrities using foul language during 2007's Live Earth concert before the 9pm watershed - when millions of children were watching.
Five performers - including Phil Collins, Ricky Gervais and Razorlight singer Johnny Borrell - used the F-word, or variants of it, during the save-the-planet concert.
Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: 'These figures suggest either that standards are slipping, or more worryingly, that broadcasters are simply ignoring fines and treating them as a cost of being in business.'
Mr Hunt said people did not need to be like TV standards campaigners Mary Whitehouse 'to worry about the increase in swearing on TV, but these fines are for a much wider range of offences.'
He added: 'All broadcasters have a duty to act more responsibly and cut down on these serious breaches of the broadcasting code. It reflects a worrying trend of broadcasters flouting their obligations.'
Only last month, MPs warned broadcasting had plunged into a 'linguistic sewer' as a result of offensive levels of swearing.
TV executives were blamed for 'crossing the line' by allowing uncomfortable amounts of bad language on our screens.
There have been signs recently of a mounting public backlash against swearing and vulgar comedy on TV and radio.
Thousands of radio listeners were outraged last year when Russell Brand - egged on by Jonathan Ross - boasted about having sex with Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs' granddaughter Georgina Baillie.
Disgraced Ross was suspended from his BBC shows for three months - but immediately sparked anger on his return by cracking a joke about having sex with an 86-year-old Alzheimer's sufferer.
TV companies have been hit with record fines of £4.7million for breaching broadcasting rules last year, new figures reveal.
Critics claim the punishment payments are fresh evidence of plummeting standards on our screens.
Only last month the BBC was branded 'institutionally indecent' for broadcasting adult film actor Ron Jeremy describing in graphic detail lewd acts he wanted to perform on Hollywood star Lindsay Lohan and her lesbian lover.
The Tories revealed that fines issued by broadcasting regulator Ofcom had soared from £452,500 in 2004 to a staggering £4.7million last year - a rise of 1,000 per cent.
Among the programmes fined last year included Ant and Dec's Gameshow Marathon, the prime-time show broadcast by LWT, which was fined £1.2million for choosing competition winners who sounded 'lively'.
And ITV was also fined £1.2million after Soapstar Superstar, a reality singing competition for soap operas, was caught out with the production team overriding the song choices voted for by viewers and closing voting lines early.
Adult TV channel Television X was fined £25,000 for broadcasting two naked presenters 'engaging in very explicit sexual acts' during an unencrypted freeview of its programmes.
The BBC was also forced to make a grovelling apology for broadcasting celebrities using foul language during 2007's Live Earth concert before the 9pm watershed - when millions of children were watching.
Five performers - including Phil Collins, Ricky Gervais and Razorlight singer Johnny Borrell - used the F-word, or variants of it, during the save-the-planet concert.
Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: 'These figures suggest either that standards are slipping, or more worryingly, that broadcasters are simply ignoring fines and treating them as a cost of being in business.'
Mr Hunt said people did not need to be like TV standards campaigners Mary Whitehouse 'to worry about the increase in swearing on TV, but these fines are for a much wider range of offences.'
He added: 'All broadcasters have a duty to act more responsibly and cut down on these serious breaches of the broadcasting code. It reflects a worrying trend of broadcasters flouting their obligations.'
Only last month, MPs warned broadcasting had plunged into a 'linguistic sewer' as a result of offensive levels of swearing.
TV executives were blamed for 'crossing the line' by allowing uncomfortable amounts of bad language on our screens.
There have been signs recently of a mounting public backlash against swearing and vulgar comedy on TV and radio.
Thousands of radio listeners were outraged last year when Russell Brand - egged on by Jonathan Ross - boasted about having sex with Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs' granddaughter Georgina Baillie.
Disgraced Ross was suspended from his BBC shows for three months - but immediately sparked anger on his return by cracking a joke about having sex with an 86-year-old Alzheimer's sufferer.