MTV Contains More Foul Content than Adult-Targeted Broadcasts
In a new study released by Parents Television Council (PTC), results showed that MTV contains more sexual content and foul language than any other adult-targeted broadcast television programs.
While MTV aims at children as young as 12, its programming shows an average of nine sexual scenes per hour and 8.9 uses of unedited foul language per hour. The study, "MTV Smut Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs and Alcohol," surveyed 171 hours of MTV programming. Depictions of violence were higher on MTV than other broadcast networks.
"There's no question that TV influences the attitudes and perceptions of young viewers, and MTV is deliberately marketing its raunch to millions of innocent children," said L. Brent Bozell, president of the PTC.
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MTV's major viewer audience comes from the crowd of children and teens aged between 12 and 19 years old. The youth-aimed program is viewed by 73 percent of boys and 78 percent of girls within that age range.
" ... I cannot imagine that any parent -- if they were informed about what's on MTV -- would allow their children to watch it," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
With MTV as a subsidized network and included in the basic cable package, Bozell posed the question, "How many parents now being forced to take and pay for MTV as part of a basic cable package, would continue to do so?"
During the study, PTC found 1,548 sexual scenes, 3,056 depictions of sex or forms of nudity and 2,881 verbal sexual references, 1,518 uses of unedited foul language, 3,127 bleeped profanities, and 1,068 violent incidences.
The Parents Television Council was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media. This national grassroots organization has nearly one million members across the United States, and works with television producers, broadcasters, networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and negative messages targeted to children.
The PTC also works with elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast decency standards. Most importantly, the PTC produces critical research and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex, violence and profanity in entertainment. This information is provided free of charge so parents can make informed viewing choices for their own families.
