The Parents Television Council is advising NBC to mind its language as it airs the next four episodes of Saturday Night Live "live" in all time zones.
PTC president Tim Winter pointed out Tuesday that means the show will be airing outside of the 10 p.m.-6 a.m. indecency safe harbor.
Winter was not upbraiding the show for its content, instead citing its popularity and that its move could attract some younger viewers.
“From the ‘Not Ready for Primetime Players’ 40 years ago to clever parodies of the 2016 Clinton-Trump debates, millions of Americans have enjoyed watching Saturday Night Live—and in half the country it truly is live. But with NBC’s announcement that the entire nation will be watching the same live performance over its final four weeks, we are calling on NBC to be mindful that its one broadcast feed will air outside the ‘Safe Harbor’ for FCC broadcast indecency oversight in the Mountain and Pacific time zones,” he said.
“Just as NBC anticipates reaching a much bigger and broader viewing audience for SNL with this programming decision, that audience is likely to include children who would not otherwise be watching at 11:30 p.m.," he said.
He pointed out that there has been the occasional expletive or off-script comment and asked the NBC standards department to be particularly vigilant.
He also urged the network to rate the show appropriately, which he said could mean a TV-MA (mature audiences) designation rather than its usual TV-14.
