Nets in a Box -- SNL skit just latest example of how FCC hinders old media
When Saturday Night Live's "Dick in a Box" skit aired on television Saturday night, the offending word was bleeped out 16 times. Not so on YouTube or NBC's site, where SNL placed an unedited version.
SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels says that outflanking FCC censorship in this manner will be rare, but it's hard to understand why -- the FCC can't regulate networks online, so ostensibly can't punish them for what they do on the Web. NBC runs the risk of alienating advertisers on both platforms if it gets too raunchy, but I'm sure the advertisers are doing the math: SNL gets 6.5 million viewers on Saturday night, but the video has received over 2M views in the last five days. That's quite a value add.
What's more: Video on the Web has a much longer life expectancy than video on television, and that's a reality that will only increase in importance with time. So as someone who lives on the Web and doesn't watch much TV, it actually seems backwards to bleep out expletives on television while letting the expletives live online. Not that I care about expletives in the first place, but I think you get my point. The web video, over time, will have more viewers than the original broadcast.
NBC's decision isn't without contextual significance. Earlier this year, Congress authorized a 10-fold increase in indecency fines. And over in the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York today, Fox is arguing that the FCC should throw out the broadcast indecency policy altogether, saying it violates free speech. (At least as far as live awards shows go.) Other networks, including CBS and NBC, are fighting FCC fines in court too.
The Fox situation reminds me of how MTV webcast the backstage portions of its awards show this year. I didn't watch the webcast, but I assume there was ample opportunity -- was Courtney Love there? -- for cussin.' Regardless, MTV wasn't fined (to my knowledge), and one can only assume that MTV will continue to webcast significant amounts of its content online, sans FCC regs. Why online? Because that's where the kids are, now and forevah-evah.
To my mind, with the advent of the broadband TV, the FCC's indecency policies serve less as regulatory watchdog and more as market tariff or even a barrier to entry. Old media networks are trying to make the transition to a new media world, but they're doing so with one arm tied behind their backs. It's easier and cheaper to produce content online. So either the FCC must move to regulate broadband TV, or actually be a lever that forces networks to show more of their content online. Either way, expect a long hard slog.
