Network Execs Bracing for More Fallout From Nipplegate

Posted on February 6, 2004

As of today, Janet Jackson's publicist has confirmed that she will not be attending the Grammys on Sunday. However, Entertainment Tonight is reporting that she still has a seat reserved for her in the front row, so who knows whether she'll be there or not. It is also being reported that Justin Timberlake still may be disinvited from performing at the event. But the most unfair fallout from Nipplegate so far has to be the abrupt cancellation of J.C. Chasez's planned halftime performance at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. Chasez has blasted the NFL for punishing him for something his *NSYNC bandmate did at the Superbowl (he wasn't even there). Daily Variety is reporting the Chasez will be allowed to sing the National Anthem before the game as some sort of consolation prize...

Because it's an election year, Congress has decided to get into the act and is now drawing up witness lists for the hearings to be held next week in Washington, D.C. Word is, the head of Viacom and everyone involved in the now infamous Superbowl halftime show are going to be called to testify.

Not only are the tv execs about to get a congressional grilling on national television, the Grammys and the Oscars are reportedly instituting up to a five minute delay in the broadcasts, allowing censors to delete any performance they feel is indecent under FCC rules. And ER cut a scene which showed trauma surgeons ripping off an elderly woman's shirt to treat her (her breast was exposed for a second or so).

After the furor dies down a bit, it will be interesting to see what the networks do. They are losing viewers in droves to sex and violence-laden shows on cable, such as The Sopranos. FCC rules do not apply to cable because it does not use the public airwaves (the rules were promulgated long before cable existed), so the sky's the limit as far as content goes. But the majority of Americans now get their tv through a cable or satellite system.

I think that it's unfair that Janet Jackson is getting all the blame for this. Yes, she made a mistake in planning any kind of "reveal" for that performance. She's apologized over and over again. But no one at the networks has apologized for the incredibly tacky ads that viewers were forced to watch which featured: a dog biting a man's crotch, a sweaty Scotsman (presumably wearing no underpants) standing over a grate while cold air blows up his kilt while a little boy watches, a horse breaking major wind into the face of a woman in a sleigh and erectile dysfunction ads which warned users to seek medical attention if the erection lasted more than four hours.

Now, that's tacky.