Ofcom Broadcasting | Research ~ SP

Within a lecture, Helen mentioned the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. I decided to do some research onto this and to help me understand the different rules and regulations within TV. This will help me understand what regulations we will have for our show.

Some of the regulations, that are mainly under 18s due to our target audience, that I thought would be helpful for us to know with our production are:

• The watershed is at 9pm/21:00
• This material is not meant for children under 15 and should not be shown before 9pm
• Stronger material should appear later in the schedule, during the watershed, like 10pm or 11pm
• Sexual offences shouldn't be shown before 9pm
• This includes things like incest, etc.
• Drugs, smoking and alcohol shouldn't be featured in movies that are directed to children unless it has a justified reason like educational purposes.
• Violent and dangerous behaviour is appropriate for limited and certain programmes
• If it's harmful it shouldn't be shown before the watershed.
• Offensive language is not allowed before the watershed
• Sexual material must be rated R18, and adult material is only allowed to be broadcasted between 10pm-5am/22:00-05:00
• Nudity must be justified.
• Any competitions and voting elements of a show must be conducted fairly
• Viewers and listeners shouldn't be misled.
• Prices must be described clearly and accurately.
• Any product placement is prohibited except in films, tv series, sports programmes or/and light entertainment

After researching this I feel like I have a good understanding of the regulations that we have for our show and what we should and shouldn't do in order to follow the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.