The end of live TV


From the WashPost: “The Price for On-Air Indecency Goes Up - Congress Approves Tenfold Increase in Fines FCC Can Assess”

The maximum penalty for broadcasting indecent material on radio and television will increase tenfold to $325,000 under legislation passed by the House yesterday that awaits only a promised presidential signature.

The bill, called the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act, was passed unanimously by the Senate last month and cleared the House by a vote of 379-35. President Bush has vowed to sign the bill into law; it would allow the Federal Communications Commission to powerfully punish over-the-air broadcasters for airing raunchy content. The bill keeps cable and satellite broadcasters outside of the government's authority to police the airwaves.

It seems to me that the upshot of this legislation will be that every music award show, sporting event, and Super Bowl halftime show will be on a five-second delay.