Decency watchdog Parents Television Council isn’t waiting around for the debut of CW’s new version of “Beverly Hills 90210.” It is slamming CW for its decision to prescreen the new program, and putting advertisers “on notice” that they should not place spots on the show sight unseen.
PTC’s Tim Winter said “The CW Network’s decision to keep all content in its new 90210’ series under wraps until the premiere raises serious red flags. No reputable advertiser should even consider sponsoring the show without viewing the content in advance. CW’s cowardly decision heightens the need for advertisers to be responsible corporate citizens who carefully evaluate their media buys and ensure that the content they subsidize lines up with their corporate ideals.” PTC cited plot elements from CW’s “Gossip Girl” as evidence for extreme skepticism about the content that will be included in “90210.” PTC’s stated mission is “…to stem the flow of harmful and negative messages targeted to children.”
RBR/TVBR observation: PTC is well within its rights in encouraging advertisers to stay away from programming it doesn’t like. However, we must say that in our experience, producers who eschew prescreeings are usually trying to avoid critical reviews. And as far as we know, there have been no findings of indecency attached to either of these shows.
