Age inappropriate ads within TV on Demand

[baffledmum]

I know that I am lucky to be able to afford TV on Demand in this day and age but....has anyone else felt that the ads that run alongside while you are making your choice are age inappropriate?

Have just chosen Blue Peter for my 6 year old and had to run the gauntlet of Gossip Girl previews. It can be worse than that on occasions and I sometimes dive for the mute button before turning in to TV on Demand in the first place. Come on TV stations - you can do better than this!!

I guess I could turn the TV off but there is good stuff on there too and I don't understand why there it can't be better managed at the station end.

If the ads would be rated U/PG as presumably blue peter would be, they are not age inappropriate, they are just targeted at older viewers/siblings/parents that are also watching. Like cleaning products during cartoons on tv.

YABU

The advert wasn't for blue peter though, she was trying to choose blue peter and the advert was for gossip girls....

I use internet based on demand services (iplayer, 4OD, blinkbox etc) and I suspect those adverts are regulated.

I think the one you may be talking about is something different though... as you say it's when you are making a choice. Is it part of the Guide?

I would have thought that all adverts as part of the Guide would be appropriate for all viewers. Do keep in mind that an advert promoting something aimed at an older audience can still be U rated.
Complain to the service provider (BT Vision, Virgin Media) and take it up with the Advertising Standards Agency if necessary.

The placing of clearly adult themed adverts before the 8 oc'clock watershed in among programmes that children will be watching really annoys me on both terrestrial and satelitte TV.

A few years I was astonished to hear a well known serious TV presenter explain how he had personally battled with TV executives who sat there in programming meetings deliberately trying to work out ways of breaching the 8 o'clock watershed without being censured. He said he was sick of it because of the deliberate cynical nature of it. He was over ruled all in the name of ratings.

This is a clear case of how the premature sexualisation of our kids is driven purely for commercial gain.

Thanks for all your replies. Virgin, who provide me with cable, have come back and advised me that they cannot regulate the trailers that are shown on On Demand while you are selecting the programme. That is quite poor really as there are PINs etc to give parents some control over other content. I don't mind age appropriate stuff but these trailers certainly aren't.

May be best to stick to recording it afterall....

YANBU. This happens all the time.

I was watching the porn channel last night and an ad for Star Wars Lego came on. Appalling.

LOL - but you've missed the point of the OP.

If I was watching the channel I'd accept whatever adverts were streaming, this happens in The Guide section as another poster has already explained

Yes, I get annoyed with this too - I have virgin, and I try to remember to mute the TV before going into the on-demand section, as there are often clips from inappropriate things running in the box on the right when I am trying to find a movie in the family section for DD. Maybe if we start writing letters to virgin about it they might pay attention?

I have BT Vision and they don't run these adds, you actively have to look for their 'coming soon' programs. What I was annoyed about was adverts for the Sex Slave program on C4 that were screened during the day. My DS1 saw it and I had some tricky explaining to do.

On a different (but related) note re your post miracled, I have been noticing during the ad breaks on Fiver (if I have been ...hangs head in shame... watching aussie soaps at 5 or 6pm), there is a rundown of the schedule for that evening, including a programme called 'Sex lessons'. I can imagine that being awkward to explain to kids. Not that I would necessarily be squeamish about talking about sex per se, but more the idea that some people might take lessons in it from the TV.

D

Feel no shame Deliaskis. I often record Burn Notice which is on immediately before Sex Lessons so the first 5 mins or so are recorded. The most shocking thing is that its presented by Little Cook from Big Cook Little Cook! The little bit that I have seen doesn't seem to be that educational

Oh yes, the problem is dire, so much so that DD (6) is not allowed to switch to TV on demand without first switching off the sound.

Even then, the music video images are dire, tits and bums at 2pm for my 6 year old DD? They should have a filter...at one point the ads were not there, I was hoping htis was permanent but no, they came back.

When I'm trying to get Timmy Time, I don't want Jordan's boobs discussed. Actually,I don't want to hear a discussion about her boobs ever.

I have just watched the Iron man movie on TV with my kids and part way through this ad for a horror film came on. Before the watershed I don't expect to have to hide my children's eye's and explain terror!!!

The placement and scheduling of adverts is regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and you can complain to them, via their website, about the inappropriate placement of ads. Try this link: www.asa.org.uk. They will investigate and if there's a breach of the advertising Code, the ads will be removed.