Networks win on movie classification
Govt allows M rated movies to start at 7:30pm, in sync with M rated TV shows.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News, Top Stories
The government has delivered a Christmas gift -of sorts- to networks and viewers by making a minor change to classification rules for movie broadcasts.
M rated movies can now be broadcast from 7:30pm, in line with M rated television shows. It was previously 8:30pm.
MA rated movies can now be broadcast from 8:30pm, also in line with MA television shows. It was previously 9pm.
The change to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, which passed through Parliament earlier this month, had been a point of contention to networks. Industry sources had described the imbalance as a “ridiculous distinction between TV and movies.”
Nine had even taken steps to split movies such as Lord of the Rings, Casino Royale and London Has Fallen into two halves, coded separately such as PG and M. For viewers that meant a commercial break and an abrupt rolling of credits in the middle of a movie.
Hopefully this puts an end to such nonsense… unless a network is determined to trim down an M rated movie for 7pm on a weekend. Never say never….
Networks are already taking advantage of the change with MA movie Office Christmas Party and M rated Meet the Parents screening in early slots this week.
Nine sources tell TV Tonight they plan to screen M rated Black Panther on Sunday January 5 at an 8pm start -now able to run without two credit sequences.
13 Responses
If you look at SBS World Movies, they already air M rated movies at 7:30pm (with a M rating). So I think this is a good thing moving forward and remove the problems we have such as dividing the movie into “two parts” with a credit at the end of each part. If TV shows with a M rating can be aired at 7:30pm, then so can movies with a M rating (same with MA, just replace 7:30pm with 8:30pm).
It wasn’t just about adding extra credits. Nine heavily (and poorly) edited the first half of Casino Royale to fit with a PG rating.
About time.
The strange distinction between films and TV was certainly ridiculous, but it’s not like it was mandatory. Only Nine showed downright contempt for their viewers with their two parters — doubly so for iconic opening sequences like Star Wars and James Bond. They always had the option to cut the whole thing or wait an hour.
However others were frustrated by the rule and stuck to doing the right thing.
Networks still showing ‘M’ rated films cut down to ‘PG’ for showing earlier in the day-‘Sliding Doors’ was a victim last weekend.
Anyone still watching movies live on FTA are the real losers
Not everyone has access to streaming services, so your comment is a bit harsh.
I think this is a good move and it should’ve happened right at the start. Every now and again the FTA networks should do ad free movies, in particular over the Summer.
huh?
buying movies is still a thing you know…..
Plenty of people who can’t afford to buy movies. Also plenty who aren’t interested in buying a movie they’ll only watch once (or rarely).
Just because someone make decisions different from the ones you make does not make them a loser
It’s probably been 20 years since I’ve watched a theatrically released movie on free-to-air.
Why did they have to run credits mid-movie when regular shows don’t always have credits anyway.
All series have credits, the networks either edited them or speed through them, now in some cases they direct you online to view them…..