Age rating errors?

[Anonymous User]

There may be some typos in this post as I am doing this on my iPod but recently Age rating errors have been made. E.g Legends of Tommorow is apparently 18 yet it airs at 8pm not 10pm when 18 rated programmes can be shown

[Andy]

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@Jason-C wrote:

what do you feel is the best course of action in the following example: If you had ten episodes in a show, eight of which are 15-rated, two which are 18. Would you flag the show as a whole as a 15 - with the knowledge that more than one episode is unsuitable?

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@Jason-C Oh I don't know, you're probably better off getting views of people with children in the household, hopefully @Anonymous User and @Anonymous User will reply as I'm guessing they have children.

On the NOW TV box you only get the ratings next to individual episodes anyway, so that's not an issue, but on apps and the website it's currently just mentioned the once for the whole boxset right? So if we moved to individual ratings I imagine it would just be easier to put the rating next to the individual episode, then any child clicking on it and getting the code prompt will hopefully know why it's happened. For instance on the website it could be added to the end of the text label when you click an episode eg 

Season 1 | Episode Ep 9 | Fizbo | Runtime 20 mins | PG

As I say though would be interesting to get more responses from people who use  NOW TV with children.

PS ideally, I'd love to see separate user profiles, and then individual settings could be applied to each profile, with only the appropriate content being displayed to each user - but I'm guessing we are a long way off that! 😉

[Anonymous User]

In fairness to Now TV this is a very difficult topic nowadays, because thinking in the UK about "suitability for young people" has shifted significantly over the past 10 - 15 years.

Yesterday I watched a movie called "Don't Blink" with my Cinema Pass.  It contained a lot of strong language and violence/gore, including multiple instances of the "f" word, of which there was no prior warning, and yet the movie is rated only "15".  Some parents will consider this is acceptable in the present day climate, but others will be shocked that it carries a rating of less than "18".

People's views on this subject vary a great deal, and you can't hope to satisfy everyone.  (I realise that the age ratings on the movie channels are governed by the BBFC, so they are outside the control of Sky/Now TV anyway.)

Wlat

[Anonymous User]

I think there's a different level of expectation when a feature film has a 15 rating, people will expect some degree of violence, sex and bad language. It's also simple enough to look the film up on the BBFC's website:

LAST STOP AKA DON'T BLINK is a US horror thriller about a group of friends who arrive at a mysterious cabin in the woods.

Spoiler

Violence

There is strong violence when a character shoots other characters in the chest and in the leg. There are some bloody images in a scene in which a dead body is dragged across the floor. There is also a gory image of a man pulling a glass shard out of his hand.

Threat

There is a scene of strong threat in which a man is strangling a woman in an attempt to kill her. There is sustained threat throughout as characters go missing inside a cabin.

Sex

There is a scene of strong sex as a couple have sex in bed. Visual detail is limited to brief glimpses of bare buttocks and breast nudity.

Language

There is frequent use of strong language ('f**k', 'motherf**ker'), as well as use of mild bad language (eg '######', 'crap', '######').

With TV content it's slightly different we don't know if the rating is correct and we generally do have warnings. Don't Blink is probably closer to a 12 in the current climate than an 18. SKY and NOW TV do a decent job of getting the movie ratings correct, although they have made a few goofs in the past (which they quickly corrected).

[Anonymous User]

Hi

Can Now TV create something like a safe list which the admin on the account can add TV Series to which allows users to watch without having to add the PIN each time?

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for the reply, Jason-C.

Hooten and the Lady is rated 12 for the upcoming DVD release (although it's not currently listed on the BBFCs site, so that might change), Zoo is 15, Arrow 15, The Flash a 12, The Blacklist 15, so the 18 certificate is unwarranted. Legends of Tomorrow is a 15 although it's been rated an 18 in the past (I'm not sure if that will be adjusted).

It's understandable if one episode is rated 18 then the series as a whole is rated 18, but the BBFC do rate each individual episode, so if there are anomalies you can choose to skip higher rated episodes or watch them beforehand to judge them (both ANgel and The X-Files have 18 rated box sets because the odd episode pushed the rating higher).

"What sort of further information would you like to see that would inform your viewing decisions as a family?"

Currently you proceed each episode that features strong language, violence or sex with a visual and verbal warning, whihc is fine, but when a episode is rated 18 and there's no warning the viewer is left with no idea of the content, with Hooten and the Lady, which is on after 9pm. As you said there's a possibilty that future episodes will feature more adult themed content (and I'd then assume there would be a warning?), but the pilot episode was certainly no more than a 12.

If warnings could be applies to all shows rated 18 beacuse of of the higher rated episodes it would help inform viewers. The US system is excellent, our TV ratings don't really have to match up with the BBFC ratings although it would be obviously less confusing if they did.

They also have graphic descriptors for content, D -Suggestive dialogue, L - Coarse or crude language, S - Sexual Situations, V - Violence, and FV - Fantasy Violence.

There's also a very good system in the US for cable content:

Rating Descriptor's meaning Entailing program content:

AC	Adult content	This indicates that the film or program may contain suggestive dialogue, crude humor or in extreme cases, drug references or depiction of drug and/or alcohol use that may not be suitable for children.
AL	Adult language	This suggests that the film, special or program may contain profanity, ranging from either mild profanity (such as damn, pr##k or ass) to expletives, with or without a sexual meaning; more than four uses of two or more expletives like "sh#t" or "f##k" in a film/program, may result in the program being assigned a "GL" descriptor.
GL	Graphic language	This descriptor suggests that a movie, special event (for example, a stand-up comedy special) or series will contain a heavy amount of profanity, with relatively to very frequent usage of expletives with or without a sexual meaning. Criteria for the "GL" description is usually for films or television programs that contain the use of two or more expletive profanities (such as "sh#t", "c##t" or "motherf##ker") more than four times during the run of the program.
MV	Mild violence	This suggests that a movie or series contains a mild amount of violent content, either comedic or non-comedic in nature, that may or may not include some bloodshed.
V	Violence	This is indicative of the program containing a moderate to significant amount of violent content (such as a physical altercation or shooting), which may include mild to moderate amounts of bloodshed. This does not necessarily account for incidents in which scenes may contain gory material or the depiction of dismemberment.
GV	Graphic violence	This means that the program or film may contain a heavy amount of violence, blood or gore, that is unsuitable for younger audiences or those who are squeamish to such content. The usage of this descriptor depends on how long the blood or gore is actually shown and how much of it is included.
BN	Brief nudity	This is indicative that the film or program contains a minimal amount of moderate nudity, that may either be depicted in a sexual or non-sexual nature (such as a brief glimpse of a man's buttocks); nudity seen in the program or film may not necessarily be full-frontal in nature.
N	Nudity	This means that a live-action or animated film/program contains a moderate to significant amount of partial or full-frontal nudity, that may either be depicted in a sexual or non-sexual nature. This may either be for anything such as the display of topless women or exposed male buttocks, to in some cases, exposed genitalia.
SSC	Strong sexual content	This signifies that the program may contain graphic sexual situations, particularly scenes of simulated (or in rare cases, actual) sexual intercourse that is often of a pornographic nature (though in some instances, the sexual intercourse depicted may be depicted in a realistic and artistic style), with the incorporation of moderate or full-frontal nudity.
RP	Rape	This denotes the film or program may contain graphic scenes of rape and/or other forms of sexual assault, depicted in a realistic and often violent, but fictional nature. Any program that contains such content is not likely suitable for anyone under the age of 18, or anyone who objects to and/or is uncomfortable with visual depictions of sexual abuse.

So the first episode of Hooten and the Lady (I aplogize for bringing this up again), would feature the graphic descriptors of AC, AL, MV, BN or something similar.

Obviously this would be a mammoth undertaking on SKY's part, but they are one of the largest providors of content in the UK. I don't think this is something that just SKY and NOW TV should invest in, it should be doen by other providors as well.

[Anonymous User]

Hi

Is there a feature which allows you to 'allow' a series without having to enter a pin if the admin on the accounts adds it to something like a 'safe list'. This then allows you to moitor and add things which you can allow the kids to watch without havimg to have the kids hide whilst you add a pin number. The pin entry is also a bit of a nightmare as the number is visable as you enter it. 

[Andy]

@Anonymous User No feature like that at the moment I'm afraid, but I agree with you about the issue of entering parental PINs on NOW TV boxes. I wish they would adopt something similar to the way the Amazon Fire TV devices use, where you can enter numerical codes easily using the up/down/left/right/OK buttons without revealing them on screen.