More than three-fourths (76 percent) of voters will be unhappy if government regulation limits the TV programming choices available, according to a survey released Friday by TV Watch, an organization backed by NBC Universal, CBS Corp. and Fox parent News Corp. Other findings of the study:
82 percent of voters prefer exercising personal choice over what they watch on television, compared to the 12 percent who would prefer that government regulate what is appropriate
73 percent think that a single complaint shouldn’t be enough to spur a government investigation or fine for a TV show
64 percent said it’s futile for the government to fine broadcast network programs when similar programming is available on cable, satellite or the Internet
66 percent believe that the government should not make subjective decisions about when the use of explicit language is necessary, whether in educational or artistic programming
87 percent agreed that with TV ratings and parental controls that include the v-chip and cable and satellite blockers, every household can regulate its own TV viewing
“More people believe in alien abductions than think the government should control what adults watch on TV,” said Jim Dyke, TV Watch executive director, in a statement.
TV Watch said the nationwide survey was conducted March 24-26 by Russell Research and included 501 registered voters. It gave the margin of error as 4.4 percent.
