NBC Adding Delay to NASCAR Telecasts

[Blax]

NEW YORK - NBC is adding a 5-second delay to its NASCAR (news - web sites) telecasts after Dale Earnhardt (news - web sites) Jr. used a vulgarity during a postrace TV interview last weekend.

"We're disappointed for our viewers to have to do this, but the delay provides a level of protection against anything inappropriate going out over the air," NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol said Thursday.

Earnhardt was docked 25 points in the Nextel Cup standings and fined $10,000 for his slip of the tongue in an NBC interview after his victory at Talladega Superspeedway, dropping him to second place with seven races left in the season. He will appeal the point penalty.

Federal regulators have cracked down on objectionable content on TV and radio since Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during her halftime performance at the Super Bowl. CBS was fined a record $550,000 by the FCC (news - web sites) for Jackson's breast-baring incident.

Networks have installed delays of up to 10 seconds for some programming, and ABC's "Monday Night Football" is using a 5-second delay this season. But, until now, NBC had decided not to give itself a chance to censor its NASCAR telecasts.

Link (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041007/ap_on_sp_au_ra_ne/car_nascar_tv_delay)

[KevinNU7]

getting docked points is a bit ridiculous

[rkmsuf]

He should have showed his breast and avoided losing points.

[Ksyrup]

Man, he's been in the news a lot today. Smacked down for ethics violations, named as a NASCAR commentor...

Hell of a day for Tom DeLay.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Man, he's been in the new a lot today. Smacked down for ethics violations, named as a NASCAR commentor...

Hell of a day for Tom DeLay.

Damn it, you beat me to it!

[Schmidty]

NASCAR is boring and crappy (to me), but docking the guy points for swearing is fucking shitty.

[Ksyrup]

Damn it, you beat me to it!
:p

This is one of those rare threads where the title is a parody unto itself.

[Kevin]

Why is it in the US, the country that claims to be the defender of free speech, that an innocent live cuss word creates such a controversy? I mean if you're not too sensitive to watch cars hurtling into a wall at 180 mph, how can you be offended by a word that describes a natural bodily function, given that it wasn't part of any script, just a response to a typically inane question by a reporter?

I've seen a football broadcast where taped interviews contain the word "pissed" and didn't hear any furor about it. it reminds me of the old George Carlin routine. "I'm getting fired upstairs at the casino for saying "shit"; meanwhile downstairs everyone cheers when a big guy in a cowboy hat yells: "Oh shit!, I crapped".

[Crapshoot]

and the prudes are at it again..

[rkmsuf]

It is odd. Somehow humanity has survived all these years.

[Schmidty]

Why is it in the US, the country that claims to be the defender of free speech, that an innocent live cuss word creates such a controversy? I mean if you're not too sensitive to watch cars hurtling into a wall at 180 mph, how can you be offended by a word that describes a natural bodily function, given that it wasn't part of any script, just a response to a typically inane question by a reporter?

I've seen a football broadcast where taped interviews contain the word "pissed" and didn't hear any furor about it. it reminds me of the old George Carlin routine. "I'm getting fired upstairs at the casino for saying "shit"; meanwhile downstairs everyone cheers when a big guy in a cowboy hat yells: "Oh shit!, I crapped".

Good point.

The U.S. is hypocritical.