Sticky Ground

Remember the Jerry Springer Show on Big CBS or Get Out on TLC or the infamous ticker which said, 'How to not get caught while watching porn' on MTV. Interestingly, all these shows/ticker have been pulled off air and is no longer being shown on respective channels. Wondering why? Simple, set up one and a half years ago as an answer to resolve viewers’ concerns, television content watchdog Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) had only one agenda to monitor content on non-news channels.

In the last 18 months, the self-regulatory body has received as many as 8,628 complaints. Of this it had received only 1,072 specific complaints while it got 858 miscellaneous complaints (complaints not pertaining to specific channels/ shows). Moreover, it received 4,814 suggestions, apart from 565 complaints against advertisements, about 253 complaints against films, 483 complaints against news content, 153 complaints against non-Indian Broadcasting Federation (IBF) members which the body referred to the ministry of information and broadcasting and 430 complaints against quizzes and prizes.

At a press conference held in New Delhi last week, Justice (Retd.) AP Shah, chairman, BCCC, said, “The body's biggest achievement has been 100% compliance of all channels with the council's directive. There has been no instance of violation in this respect. Also nearly 50% complaints have been received on content related to sex, obscenity

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