PTC Cautions Parents, Advertisers, about Sexually-Explicit “Dating” Show

Written by PTC | Published June 29, 2016

The Parents Television Council is issuing an urgent call of caution to parents that a sexually-explicit, teen-targeted program called “Dating Naked” will be airing on the teen-targeted VH1 basic cable network. Additionally, the PTC has contacted corporate sponsors that have advertised on previous episodes of the program, urging those companies to reconsider supporting such explicit, teen-targeted content. The new season begins on June 29. “Buying ad time on ‘Dating Naked’ is synonymous to an endorsement of the content. We’re urging companies that have done so in past seasons to reevaluate associating their hard-earned corporate brand image with such loathsome, bottom-of-the-barrel programming,” said PTC President Tim Winter. “To make matters worse, ‘Dating Naked’ is given a paltry TV-14 content rating, suggesting to parents that the program is appropriate for children as young as 14. Yet the entire premise of the show is based on graphic, explicit dialogue and visual titillation – hardly the type of television programming that is appropriate for children. We want parents across the nation to be on guard, especially given that younger children may be watching television during summer months.” In its communications to previous sponsors, the PTC cited a study released this spring by Scripps Networks Interactive and UP TV, revealing that “’ads seen in TV-G rated programming score substantially higher in generating attention and purchase intent than commercials appearing in television shows with TV-14 and TV-MA ratings,’ and that emotional engagement was 30 percent greater for ads appearing in TV-G shows compared to TV-14, and 173 percent greater in TV-G versus TV-MA.” “It’s clear there’s a business reason for advertisers to avoid associating with such explicit content – their ad dollars are simply being misspent,” Winter added. “And we hope that these companies will put the interests of families first by steering clear of programming like ‘Dating Naked.’”