Regulation Research

The Office of Communications is commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.

Meaning of “the watershed”:

The watershed only applies to television. Material unsuitable for children should not, in general, be shown before 2100 or after 0530. This has been applied because it will prevent any complaints from viewers if the television show inappropriate footage before a certain time.

The Ofcome also have some regulations. The reasoning for this is to make sure tv programmes stick to the rules and do not show footage that is either illegal or going against the regulations.

Drugs, smoking, solvents and alcohol

The use of illegal drugs, the abuse of drugs, smoking, solvent abuse and the misuse of alcohol:

- must not be featured in programmes made primarily for children unless there is strong editorial justification;

- must generally be avoided and in any case must not be condoned, encouraged or glamorised in other programmes broadcast before the watershed (in the case of television), or when children are particularly likely to be listening (in the case of radio), unless there is editorial justification;

Below, are TV adverts which are watershed and non watershed, the first advert will be for vieweing before 9 o'clock, which will be following the regulations and won't be offending the viewers of a certain age.

Pre Watershed - before 9 o'clock

The 9pm television watershed is used by broadcasters to distinguish between programmes intended mainly for a general audience and those programmes intended for an adult audience. However, parents and carers share in the responsibility for assessing whether programme content is suitable for their children, based on their expectations of that content.

 The 9pm watershed signals the beginning of the transition to more adult material, but the change should not be abrupt. Programme makers and schedulers should also take into account the nature of the channel and viewer expectations. The strongest material should appear later in the schedule. If sudden changes of tone are unavoidable they should be clearly signposted, for example by giving clear information about scenes of a sexual nature, violence or the use of strong language.

Post Watershed - after 9 o'clock