Ohhhh maaaan -- it seems like the most basic human response is to make cheap jokes when you read about MTV Networks Europe being fined £255,000 ($484,500) for what British media regulator Ofcom calls "widespread and persistent" breaches of broadcasting code stuff. So I am going to make those cheap jokes. Was it "widespread and persistent" airing of A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila? Annoying television hosts in their early thirties wearing teenybopper clothing and screaming "What's up y'allllll?" Perhaps one too many live broadcasts from Spring Break in Cancun?
Well, actually it's for airing Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker," among other things. It all happened so quickly, before 9 PM, when small children were still awake and experiencing a rare showing of music videos. Apparently multiple instances of The F Word in "Windowlicker" didn't sit well with audiences. And neither did what are described as "racist and homophobic text messages" aired on MTV France's Belge Chat program. Naturally many viewers find Jodie Marsh offensive, but especially so when trailers for her ostensible reality show contain the line "I just don't want you settling down with some fucking wanker from a modeling agency." So that's another fine for MTV Networks Europe, currently tallying up to a cool $152,000 owed by MF, $66,500 by MTV France, $152,000 by MTV UK, and $114,000 by MTV Hits.
