LIVINGSTONE and LUNT

LIVINGSTONE AND LUNT 

Some ideas of how to apply: 

 • Look at the age rating on DVDs for it. Why it got this etc... 
• Where it was shown in the UK and how that might fit into PSB regulation (giving choice to consumers) under OFCOM. 
• Linking content to post-watershed scheduling, but how scheduling is not a relevant system of regulation in the contemporary media landscape of place and time-shifted media. If it was available on Iplayer which as a BBC service, it is regulated in a similar way to a standard TV, so it is less of a risk. 

What is Livingstone and Lunt's theory? 

• A key aspect of the theory is the underlying struggle in recent UK regulation policy between the need to further the interests of citizens on the other hand, and the need to further the interests of consumers on the other. 
• This is shown through Ofcom which regulates UK media. The main regulatory duties of Ofcom appear to address the needs of citizens while others seem to address the needs of consumers. 
• Livingstone and Lunt argue that the interests of citizens and those of consumers cannot be easily reconciled. This suggests that there is an increasing tendency in recent UK regulation policy to place the interests of consumers above those of citizens. 

Both Stranger Things and Deutschland 83 is rated 15: 

- strong language (ST + D) 

- sexual nudity 

- sexual activity 

- threat and horror (ST + D) 

- violence without dwelling on the infliction of injury or pain (D)

- drug-taking 

- verbal references to sexual violence 

Traditional television - after 9pm (9:10) regulation is minimalised, however Ofcom has no power to issue sanctions on both Netflix and Channel 4, as it is regulated by the Dutch regulator.  

The idea that the rise of convergent technologies puts traditional regulation at risk. 

OFCOM rules:

• Protect under 18s
• Prohibited material doesn't appear
• Don't insight hatred
• The commercial reference needs to be regulated

What are the pros and cons of regulating online media and streaming services? 

- Protects younger children 
- Enables the parents/carers to have power/control over what their children watch 
- Some streamers require passwords/information to access 
- On-demand reduces the regulation - can watch any time, any place 
- Can lie about age/who they are to watch
- Ofcom has no power to issue sanctions