New Delhi:
Acting on complaints received from the public, the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) on Friday said TV channels have been asked to air film award shows having double-meaning jokes and adult humour only after 11 PM.
The BCCC, which is the self-regulatory body for Non-News Channels covering over 235 TV channels, said that while reviewing complaints, it was found that at times the content was found to be demeaning to women or some communities.
"On reviewing these complaints, the BCCC has found that many of these shows feature vulgar dialogues, double-entendres and smutty puns from the anchors. Sometimes, the content of the so-called jokes is demeaning to women and other communities," the BCCC said in its advisory.
"It is not the BCCC's intention to censor these shows, which are, after all, live events. But we believe that if the content is to include adult humour then the telecast of these shows should only begin after 11PM," it added.
The Council also asked channels not to broadcast such programmes later.
"The BCCC notes that, in many cases, the shows were not telecast live but aired at a later date. It wonders why, in such cases, the channels were not able to remove inappropriate content from telecast during prime time," the advisory said.
In a separate advisory, the BCCC also asked Indian Broadcasting Federation member channels to follow guidelines related to child participation in TV serials, shows or advertisements.
The Council said that in its meeting held on July 13 wide-ranging discussions on the issue of participation of children in television reality shows and similar programmes were held.
"All IBF Member Channels are advised to strictly adhere to and comply with the 'Guidelines to Regulate Child Participation in TV Serials, Reality Shows and Advertisements 2010-2011' issued by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).