Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 30, 2004

New Parents Television Council Study:

Hispanic TV Networks Polluted with High Levels of Sexual Content

But Study Also Shows Univision and Telemundo Have Less Violence and Profanity than English-Language Networks

Los Angeles, CA - Today the Parents Television Council, the nation's most influential advocacy organization protecting children against sex, violence, and profanity in entertainment, released the results of its latest study which focused on Spanish-language television networks.  The findings revealed that popular Spanish-language television shows airing on both Telemundo and Univision from 8-11 p.m. contain disturbingly high levels of sexual content. The popular family-oriented show "Sabado Gigante" and the teen-oriented "Los Teens" contain the highest levels of sexual content. The study also notes that there is significantly less violence and profanity on Spanish-language television than on the major English-language broadcast networks.

"Spanish-language television tends to be watched by the entire family," PTC analyst and study author Lucia Alzaga said. "We hoped that because of this, the two major Spanish-language networks would air minimal levels of sexual content – at least during the first two hours of primetime. Unfortunately this study confirms the opposite to be the case."

Alzaga noted that Spanish-language programming tends to be less violent and less profane than the major English-language networks, but the highly charged sexual content should be a concern for everyone. "The nature of the sexual content on Spanish-language television is extraordinarily degrading toward women and sets a horrible example for young girls watching these programs with their families."

In this latest study, the PTC examined the amount of vulgar language, sexual material and violence on three weeks (June 3^rd through June 23^rd, 2003) of prime time programming (8-11 p.m.) on commercial Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo. The study period comprised 99 separate shows for a total of 104 hours of programming. Only made-for-TV programming was included. The PTC produced this study in both English and Spanish language versions.

Major Findings:

Sexual Content

• While sexual content on both networks is comparable to that of English-language networks, the family hour (8 p.m.) is rampant with sexually charged content on both Telemundo and Univision.
• During the primetime hours, Univision included 4.34 sexual references per hour, while Telemundo's rate was 3.74. But that figure rose to 6.58 instances of sexual content per hour on Telemundo at the 8-9 p.m. hour – when most children are most likely to be in the viewing audience. (For reference, in the Special Report Sex Loses its Appeal, the PTC documented an average of 4.59 instances of sexual content per hour during prime time on the six major broadcast networks.)

Violent Content

• Both Univision and Telemundo are substantially less violent than English-language networks. 
• Univision featured 1.31 instances of violence per hour, while Telemundo featured 1.81 instances per hour.
• (For reference, in the Special Report TV Bloodbath, the PTC documented a per-hour average of 4.56 instances of violence during prime time on the six major broadcast networks.)

Profane Content

• There is significantly less foul language on Spanish-language television during prime time than on its English-language counterparts.
• Univision registered 0.41 profanities per hour, while Telemundo's programming averaged only 0.32.

(The PTC documented an average of 6.62 instances of foul language per hour on the six broadcast networks during the prime time in The Blue Tube.)

The Parents Television Council™ (www.parentstv.org®) is a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. It was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media. This national grassroots organization has over one million members across the United States, and works with television producers, broadcasters, networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and negative messages targeted to children. The PTC also works with elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast decency standards. Most importantly, the PTC produces critical research and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex, violence and profanity in entertainment. This information is provided free of charge so parents can make informed viewing choices for their own families.