UK TV is getting more foul mouthed by the day.

Twenty five programs aired on the five terrestrial UK TV channels between the dates of Oct 17th and Oct 23rd were studied for the amount of profanities. All programs were aired between 9pm which is the official watershed and 10.30pm.

Some swearing started literally minutes into the program whilst children could still be viewing. The common abusive term f— was used 88 times, whilst s— could be heard 26 times and the word p— used an ear shattering 13 times plus.

Popular programs such as Gordon Ramseys Hells Kitchen have encouraged swearing to be almost fashionable. Amongst the worst offenders were episodes of channel 4’s cookery show Jamie’s Ministry of Food which follows attempts by top chef Jamie Oliver to teach people to cook healthy food. The show aired at 9pm featured the f word more than 23 times to abused ears of the nation.

Also with a high number of swear words was the BBC’s Traffic Cops show. The f word was used 20 times plus. In one scene a drunken man arrested for fighting was heard swearing repeatedly at a police officer. Natural Born Sellers a copy of the hit show the Apprentice had a ear shattering 19 occasions of the f word.

Protesters claim that due to the widespread use of recording equipment such as Tivo and online television viewing, the very concept of a watershed is questionable.

Whilst BBC programmes are subject to the watershed restriction when they are shown on terrestrial television, they can be accessed 24 hours a day via the BBC iPlayer service, whereby children can bypass the age restrictions by simply ticking a box to declare there are over the age of 16.

John Meyer, the director of Mediawatch UK a pressure group, said the results of the survey were ‘appalling’. “The use of bad language on television is now completely out of control and the fact is the public is offended by bad language but broadcasters are doing nothing to respond to that concern. Instead they are burying their heads in the sand and stretching the regulations to the very limit.

“Obviously there are still plenty of young viewers tuning in after 9pm, so why do broadcasters think that so many obscenities after the watershed is OK and what is the point of the Government spending millions trying to improve our children’s language and literacy when broadcasters are seeking to undermine it?”

John Meyer also called for Ofcom a media regulator to be allowed greater powers to police online programmes. “It is very worrying that children are increasingly gaining easy access to adult programmes online,” he said. “The solution is for Ofcom to have regulatory oversight over internet downloads, as well as on air programmes.”

BBC iPlayer and other on-demand services are currently regulated by the BBC Trust and the independent regulator, The Association for Television in Demand (ATVOD). The Government is carrying out a consultation process on proposals to make Ofcom the complete regulator for all on-demand and online broadcasting.

Shadow culture minister Ed Vaizey commented that “There is too much swearing on television, particularly in certain programmes which people construe as family viewing. Broadcasters should take the view that there are still young viewers after 9pm, and that 9.01pm does not mean an automatic license for bad language.”

Ofcoms own broadcasting code states that “the most offensive language must not be broadcast before the watershed or when children are particularly likely to be listening”, but a recent poll of television viewers by Radio Times magazine found that 69 per cent felt there was still too much swearing on television.

Channel 4 said in a statement that “Where appropriate, Channel 4 gives an on air warning to flag up strong language so viewers can exercise judgment in their viewing. All our programmes are made in accordance with Ofcom Broadcasting Code rules, which also set the watershed at 9pm.”

For the BBC “The BBC has robust guidelines in place making clear the most offensive language should not be broadcast before the watershed and needs to be justified by the context. Whilst we have a duty to reflect real lives and people, we are very sensitive about what we broadcast when children are most likely to be listening, and receive very few complaints about offensive language. Parents have a responsibility to monitor what children watch both on TV and online, but we have introduced an iPlayer lock to help parents prevent younger viewers from accessing guidance-rated programming.”

Ofcom itself claimed that “Swearing is not banned after the 9pm watershed. However, when investigating complaints received about programmes broadcast after the watershed, we do take into consideration audience expectations of a programme, the size and composition of the audience, and whether children are likely to be watching.”

So basically if you are a protective parent then lock up your sons and daughters on the stroke of 9pm or face the risk of being told to f- off next time you offend them.

Related posts:

1. BBC iPlayer becomes kid friendly
2. Watching TV shows on internet increasingly popular
3. European viewers ditching TV for the internet TV experience
4. The PC is officially the homes second TV set
5. BBC Iplayer blowing the competition away