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ABC allows M-rated content from 7:30pm

New classification timezones, reflecting recent changes on commercial TV, take effect on ABC from today.

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The ABC has announced new classification timezones from today, which will allow for M rated content.

The ABC Board has endorsed an amendment to the ABC’s Code of Practice as follows:

M programming can be broadcast on ABC, ABC2, and ABC News24 from 7.30pm to 6am;
MA15+ can be broadcast on ABC, ABC2, and ABCNews24 from 8.30pm;
Removing the distinction between weekday, weekends, public and school holidays; and
PG programming to be shown all day on ABC3.
There are no changes to ABC KIDS – it will remain G programming all day.

The change follows recent amendments by the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice and the SBS Code.

6 Responses

  3. So ABC KIDS is G all day .. except for when it’s ABC2.

    I don’t understand why they don’t just split them off onto different LCNs to avoid confusion, much like how BBC3 and CBBC in the UK formerly operated. A static title card and some low bitrate music on screen during each channel’s respective downtime would use minimal extra bandwidth.

    1. Because a static title card still eats a fair amount of bandwidth (something of the order of 1/3~1/2 of a secondary channel’s worth), & it’s not how the BBC did it anyway.

      BBC3 & CBBC used different LCNs (i.e. ‘channels’), but shared the same pair of video & audio PIDs (i.e. data ‘streams’) – when CBBC (LCN 120) closed the datastreams carried a title card for 1/2 hour or so, then LCN 120 was parked (pointed at nothing) & BBC3 (LCN 7) took over those video/audio streams. When one was down & the other in its place, there was no title card.

      It also caused merry hell with some STBs & PVRs; many didn’t expect PIDs to be shared like that. So things like channel scanning or setting a timer recording for one while the other is on-air often failed to work properly e.g. what happens if an LCN exists but isn’t ‘connected’ to anything? How does it know what PIDs to record?

  4. Good move for ABC, would be nice to see more varieties available particularly on ABC2 as I think they’d take the most advantage of this.

    Also to be honest, ABC3 should be allowed to have M rating programs after 7:30/8 as well.
    I mean, they already do in a sense. Many of the anime programs they show on their Friday night anime line up, are in fact rated M if you go and buy them from a retail store. However ABC just pretends that they’re rating PG in order to show them. Mind you the programs aren’t censored either.

    1. DVD/Video classification is different to TV classification with what is allowed. The DVD’s etc would also need a rating for the extras included.

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