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Prepared Witness Testimony The House Committee on Energy and Commerce
H.R. 3717, the 'Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004
Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
Mr. Alan Wurtzel
Subcommittee Chairman Upton and Congressman Markey, Full Committee Chairman Barton and Congressman Dingell, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for providing NBC with the opportunity to address the important matter of broadcast responsibility as well as H.R. 3717, the "Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004." I am Dr. Alan Wurtzel, the President of Research and Media Development and Chief Executive for Broadcast Standards and Practices at NBC. I have over 25 years experience in broadcast network television, and I am currently responsible for establishing and implementing the NBC Television Network's entertainment broadcast content policies and standards. NBC's Commitment and Objective Is To Broadcast Quality Programming As the head of NBC's Standards and Practices group, I can unequivocally commit to you that NBC takes seriously our obligation to our viewers to air programming that is not indecent, profane or obscene. NBC has been committed to doing so since the earliest days of black and white television, and NBC continues to honor that obligation. NBC also acknowledges that we are fully responsible for all content that is transmitted over the NBC Television Network. As an over-the-air television broadcast network, our goal is to reach a large, heterogeneous viewing audience with programming that is appropriate, acceptable, and consistent with all Congressional and FCC requirements. There is absolutely no question that any indecent content in our network programming is antithetical to NBC's core beliefs. NBC Has Internal Safeguards In Place To Ensure Broadcasts Adhere to High Standards NBC has committed the necessary resources to fulfill its obligation to broadcast appropriate content in all of its program offerings. NBC maintains a fully staffed team of 17 highly experienced professionals in our Broadcast Standards and Practices group. Their only job is to ensure that both the entertainment programming and the commercial advertising aired on the NBC Television Network are consistent with NBC's own internal standards. We actively review all of NBC's network programming, ranging from scripted programming, to reality shows, to Saturday Night Live. The Standards and Practices Department also determines the placement of the appropriate voluntary rating on programming, and exercises vigilant oversight to ensure that NBC's entertainment programming does not contain inappropriate content. We are not the only group at NBC that ensures the quality of NBC's network entertainment programming. NBC inculcates in all of its personnel the importance of observing these standards in order to serve our large and broadly diverse viewing audience. The Bono Incident Was A Rare And Regrettable Occurrence In NBC's Long History With Live TV Broadcasts In light of NBC's long history with live television and considering that the NBC Television Network transmits thousands of hours of network content annually, we believe that NBC's internal policies and safeguards have been remarkably successful in preventing obscene, indecent or profane programming from airing on our network. Occurrences of inappropriate content in our network entertainment programming have been extraordinarily rare and regrettable exceptions. In this regard, NBC deeply regrets the entertainer Bono's spontaneous and unfortunate choice of an unacceptable word during the live broadcast of the Golden Globes awards show in January 2003. That incident stands in stark contrast to NBC's long history of broadcasting live entertainment programming as well as the history of the Golden Globes broadcast. NBC had broadcast the Golden Globes live since 1996 without incident prior to Bono's remark. Furthermore, the producer of the program, Dick Clark Productions, has a long-standing reputation for professionalism and programming quality. As in years past, the producer, prior to the 2003 Golden Globes, had instructed every participant in the event that they needed to observe appropriate broadcast decorum. Therefore, Bono's utterance of a profanity was completely unexpected by everyone involved in the broadcast of the live program. In response to this unexpected incident, NBC immediately deleted the word from its transmissions to affiliated stations in the Mountain and Pacific time zones, which did not air the program live. NBC sincerely regrets that it was unable to delete the word as part of the live broadcast to the Eastern and Central time zones. But the isolated Bono incident is a rare exception in NBC's long history with live entertainment programming. It is unfortunate that what happened for a fleeting second on the 2003 Golden Globes has overshadowed an otherwise exemplary record of live entertainment broadcasting by NBC over many decades. In any event, NBC has strengthened its practices with regard to live event programming. NBC Has Instituted Additional Safeguards In an effort to take additional affirmative steps to protect our viewers from another Bono incident, NBC has instituted the routine practice of running all live award shows on a ten second delay. Since the Radio Music Awards in November 2003, all live awards shows have been-and will be-broadcast with both a video and audio delay in effect. This technological measure will safeguard future network audiences from a repetition of anything like the Bono incident. While the delay process cannot be foolproof, NBC's Standards professionals are among the most practiced in the industry and the application of their expertise should help prevent any further incidents. Furthermore, NBC continues to impress upon the producers and talent of live programs that our use of the delay in no way absolves them from their responsibility to provide programming that is consistent with the standards of the NBC Television Network. That means absolutely no indecent language or behavior. As a further precaution, NBC has also increased the voluntary rating category that we assign to live entertainment programming to remind parents that certain programming may include live, spontaneous and unpredictable content. NBC's Internal Safeguards Benefit Affiliate Stations The NBC Television Network has implemented its internal standards and safeguards to protect not only the network and our owned and operated television stations, but also for the benefit of our affiliates and our advertisers. NBC recognizes the public interest obligations of FCC licensees. We are fully cognizant that broadcast stations-both NBC's owned and operated stations and NBC affiliates-have an obligation to their viewing audience to air programming that is not indecent, profane or obscene. NBC's goal in broadcasting our programming is to reach a large, heterogeneous viewing audience. Therefore, the NBC Television Network strives to create quality programming that conforms to the local community standards within which all of our affiliate stations operate. Given the many different communities that enjoy NBC programming, this can be a challenge. But, as a result, NBC affiliates benefit not only from the ability to air NBC's quality programming, but also from NBC's Broadcast Standards' procedures and safeguards. As a practical matter, nearly all affiliates have found these precautions to be sufficient for many years of programming. However, we recognize that there may be rare instances in which an affiliate believes that certain NBC network programming does not meet its specific local community standards. Under NBC's affiliate contracts (and Section 73.658(e) of the FCC's rules), every NBC affiliate has the right to reject or preempt any program-without penalty-if an affiliate reasonably believes that such programming is unsatisfactory, unsuitable, or otherwise contrary to the public interest in its specific community. For example, the NBC Television Network has worked with our affiliate in Salt Lake City to preempt Saturday Night Live every week due to the station's concern that the program is incompatible with its prevailing community standards. I should note that Saturday Night Live is aired well outside the "safe harbor" time period, is an immensely popular and long-running series seen by the vast majority of our other NBC's affiliates as a highly valued program and has enjoyed an excellent record of staying within the bounds of decency over its 27-year history. Nevertheless, we respect our Salt Lake affiliate's decision, which is based on its judgment of what is appropriate for that community. NBC's Commitment to Avoiding Gratuitous Violence At the previous Subcommittee hearings on broadcast indecency and at the Subcommittee markup of H.R. 3717, a number of Members expressed concerns about TV violence. NBC is extremely sensitive to those concerns and has already responded to them. In the mid 1990s, NBC conducted a comprehensive review of its primetime programming due to increasing concerns, which viewers articulated through their elected representatives in Congress, about the potentially negative effects of violent programming. The result was the development of an essentially non-violent primetime program schedule which exists on the Network to this day. On the current NBC primetime schedule, programs rarely-if ever-depict interpersonal violence in a graphic or gratuitous manner. For example, NBC's long running Law & Order series-and its off-shoots, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent-exemplify our approach to violence. Rather than show the actual act of violence, the Law & Order franchise focuses on the negative interpersonal ramifications of violence and deals with the legal consequences facing those who would commit acts of violence. NBC Supports H.R. 3717 As Introduced To NBC and our owned and operated stations, the FCC's current authority is adequate to ensure compliance. This is because NBC regards any fine-regardless of the amount-as a serious matter and not simply the cost of doing business. At the same time, we recognize that some have argued for tougher sanctions, particularly in order to deter flagrant and repeat violators. In light of this specific focus, NBC supports H.R. 3717, the "Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004," as introduced, which will increase tenfold the statutory maximum of FCC forfeiture penalties. We need to be mindful, however, of the important First Amendment principles that are implicated by any content regulation. It is for that reason that the Supreme Court has only given very limited approval of any attempt to regulate broadcast indecency. We would therefore caution against any enforcement regime that would establish set responses without regard to the context of a broadcaster's violations or the broadcaster's rights to a fair hearing, or that would impose penalties that are disproportionate to the gravity of the offense. Voluntary Industry Guidelines To Promote Greater Responsibility NBC believes that concerns about indecent and inappropriate programming content should be addressed on an industry-wide basis, encompassing cable and satellite operators as well as broadcasters. In today's media environment, approximately 85 percent of television households subscribe to cable or DBS. Those viewers, on average, receive 110 channels of programming, both retransmitted broadcast signals and cable networks. For most viewers, there is no meaningful difference between a broadcast station and a cable channel-each is just another click on the same remote control. In light of this new competitive reality, NBC shares the views expressed by several Members of this Subcommittee as well as several FCC Commissioners that all industries that distribute programming to American viewers must be a part of any serious effort to come to grips with issues of appropriate program content. NBC pledges to participate in an appropriate industry-wide, voluntary effort. Conclusion For over half a century, the NBC Television Network, together with its affiliated stations, has provided quality news and entertainment programming to the nation's television households. Recently, multiple new forms of media competitors have arrived on the scene. These are essentially indistinguishable to the average viewer, yet compared to broadcast networks they are subject to far fewer limitations on their entertainment and advertising content. Despite these competitive challenges, NBC remains committed to quality through its Standards and Practices review process. We believe it is both good business as well as responsible corporate citizenship to ensure that our programming observes standards of suitability and appropriateness that are responsive to our affiliates, our advertisers, and most importantly, our viewers. We have every intention to continuing that commitment. Thank you and I welcome any questions you may have.
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