U.K. REGULATOR DECRIES DAYTIME AIRING OF SEXY MUSIC VIDEOS

British television regulator OFCOM said today (Tuesday) that it is planning to call together all U.K. cable channels that air music videos to discuss their noncompliance with rules barring sexually explicit material from airing during the pre-“watershed” 9:00 p.m. hour. The regulator acted after ruling that the music channel WTF-TV breached the broadcasting code when it aired the Rihanna video “S&M” at 11:25 a.m. Britain’s Guardian newspaper said that the video included images of Rihanna being restrained behind cellophane, dragging gossip blogger Perez Hilton on a leash while whipping him, and various scenes of Rihanna wearing “rubber and latex fetish outfits.” MTV and Channel 4 were also censured recently for airing a video by the U.S. rap group Flo Rida, “Turn Around (5, 4, 3, 2, 1),” that featured female dancers wearing thongs. In a statement, OFCOM said it is planning to issue new guidelines “about the acceptability of material in music videos broadcast before the watershed.”