BBC Radio 1 Explicit Language Question

BBC Radio 1 Explicit Language Question

BBC Radio 1 has a streaming web station and an analog FM broadcast antenna:

Do they allow explicit language to be broadcast over the FM channel?

Here at (02:55) Pete Tong says “If the strong language bothers you please change to another channel.”

https://soundcloud.com/amineedge/20140711-amine-edge-dance-bbc-radio-1-essential-mix-uncensored

The Explicit language starts at (14:15) in the mix.

How can an EDM DJ play freely and the language be censored on the fly?

Or do they allow it on the FM airwave ???

Fuck knows.

thanks. that’s what I thought too.

Pete Tong hosts the R1 Essential Mix. It’s on at 1am on Saturday Nights. I suppose the “Live” versions that are on at that time are un-edited, but the replay versions on the R1 Player have the explicit vox edited out…

Essential Mixes are EXACTLY that. They are fucking awesome.

yes ago i worked with MTVuk. also with MTV here in the US and some time with clearchannel broadcasting
they all had the same tool in their system
The Seven Second Dump Button
This means there is at least a 7 second delay from whats happening LIVE to what you hear and im talking about FM.

Songs that are playing in the radio djs screen are scrolling in front of them with countdown to certain markers set up by a different department
countdown to stop talking
countdown to press the SWEEP button
c-d to end of song
c-d to end of intro
and yes c-d to that space in the song which is highligted as “PROFANE LANGUAGE” where they would press the FLUB BUTTON (flub button sounds like a hi pitched BEEP)

Later they developed the REVERS AUDIO button where it jumbles the audio in that secotion between its markers and plays parts backwards, fast, twice, forwards so you cant make out what it says.

Now when a station plays a multi broadcast (one for satellite and one for FM) the flub, dump, and other buttons dont transmit over that signal. It remains untouched. If youre able to listen to BOTH signals at the same time youll notice the commericals are COMPLETELY different between them, and so is the delay.

Hope that answers you question my man

Question not answered.

I doubt there is a dude dumping on the Essential Mix.

I guess the only person who could answer would be an FM Listener in the UK who can listen to the FM signal.

Listen to this part at (14:15). How do you dump that? Plus your buffer would freeze and it would sound like crap.

You really think they bleeped the “Mother F&%$er” part 10 times on FM?

I really need to know.

Plus Pete Tong issues a warning first LIVE at the start and then throughout the mix.

Reason I ask is because we’re starting an FM station and it’s going to be a headache to censor the live EDM DJ’s all the time.

you dont actually think all the essential mixes played on the air are LIVE as you hear it do you?
Its bleeped before it actually airs.
however at 14:15 you are talking about an actual SONG with cursing in it.
If it needed to be played over the air (FM) then one of two things happens.
The mix is either made twice (once with the censored track)
or
that particular part of the is where they end up PRE-RECORDING it and playing it back with the use of the REVERSE AUDIO-MIX AUDIO to mess up the word

You can doubt it all you want but when it comes to the FM side, there is a policy they have to follow
however we BOTH have overlooked one key factor.

its like Watching CARTOON NETWORK
after a certain time of night, they use the N-WORD… and a few other choice ones…because of the time slot.
Policy would most likely dictate how far their language can go within certain time frames of the day.

So how do you censor the live EDM djs? tell them up front what words cant be used in their mixes. IF the word is in the song they want to play, then theyll have to use the RADIO EDIT version or CENSORED version. Thats why they make those versions of the songs

I’ll stop lurking and chime in here.

The essential mixes are pre-recorded, edited appropriately and then broadcast via Autoplayer in accordance with the schedule and The Wireless Telegraphy act.
The Radio 1 studios are unattended between midnight and 4am (roughly) so there are very few live, night time shows on R1.
Also BBC don’t own any FM transmitters as the transmission/emission chain is now owned by Arquiva.

For “live” shows there is indeed a delay which can be edited at the presentation (Red Bee Media) stage of the TX chain.

Straight from the horses mouth.

still no answer.

I’ll simplify:

Did that mix I posted by Amine Edge and Dance play on the Radio 1 FM terrestrial broadcast? Yes or No?

If Yes, Did they broadcast the explicit langauge? Yes or No?

If No, How did the edit sound? Bleeps everywhere ruining the music? Dumps causing hiccups? etc.

How the hell do they control that? A dude talking on a talk show is simple, but a live DJ mix is almost impossible to censor on the fly.

Thanks again.

loverocket
i really dont get why ur not undertsanding this
the mix was not MIXED AND PLAYED live if it has explicit language that was latered on an FM broadcast

we are telling you everything you need to know and more.
The audio gets EDITED before broadcast
just because you hear someone talking over the mix doesnt mean he is talking the same time the mix was recorded.

my question is “and youve mentioned this twice now” Why do you think there will be a HICCUP if someone uses the dump button?
a dump can be programmed to do many things
over lay a sound
over lay other audio
over lay a sample of say the same audio play but from 20 seconds prior
fade out to a sweep and fade back in
reverse audio… and so on

OK so there is definitely no explicit language ever on the Radio 1 FM broadcast.

Does anyone have the edited copy?

I want to hear what sanitized G-House sounds like?

Thanks again for the answers.

FM radio sucks.

edited copy would most likely be on an FM band and since they dont do that (correct me if im wrong on that please), there wouldnt be an “edited copy”

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/broadcast/guidance/831193/offensive-language.pdf

Mojaxx thanks for the PDF
rules havent changed that much since i was in radio
This is the first line i was talking about

“acceptability of offensive language was linked to the time of day it is broadcast
and the target audience for the radio station”

loverocket

This PDF should help you quite a bit

In the UK, television has a watershed time of 9pm, when it is assumed little kids are now asleep and you can start swearing and showing nudity, although that doesn’t tend to happen until much later (but not always. I did inwardly chuckle during one airing of Logan’s Run where they managed to time the appearance of the love interest’s boobs a few minutes after 9…)

Radio in the UK however has no fixed time watershed, and instead simply means you have to consider your audience and not swear or discuss sensitive topics when kids are likely to be around and when people will complain about it. The essential mix being broadcast at dark o’clock on the morning will have no problems with a few swear words.

Also, Radio 1’s transmitter may be owned by Arqliva but it’s still powered by Pete Tong’s radioactive testicles.

When I lived in the UK Tim Westwood had a radio 1 show from 11pm to 1am and that was a no holds barred swear-athon! Same with Annie Mac when she had the 1am to 3am slot.

give me the time and date of the show and I’ll check the AUTOROT player for you

sounds like some vague BS.

Next thing you know I’ll get a $10,000 fine in the mail.

And then have to hire a $10,000 attorney to prove that it was around 1 AM.

Where are you based loverocket? Because unless you’re in the UK, asking about explicit language on BBC radio is pretty pointless.

The FCC has their own, much stricter rules, and if you’re involved with an FM station in the US there must be someone on staff acquaintanted with those rules.

loverocket im sorry but it seems you are being very difficult with us on this or almost that you want a specific “be-all” answer to your question when the truth of the matter is, there is no ONE specific answer we can give you other then the directions we received from our own experiance with working in Radio as closely to the format you are getting into.
Again take that last part into much consideration. What you are trying to do might not be close enough to what we HAVE DONE.
So we are just giving you as much guidance as we can.

The answers we maybe giving might seem “vague, or even broad” because we are not you, and have no idea exactly what your vision is to the outcome of your quest in this.
So once again in the attempt to help you on this, check these out (which by the way you should have been able to find on your own if you looking at doing this via a US broadcast on FM or AM or TV etc.
Also, before i post the links, you can always actually CALL a local radio FM station near you and simply ask for their legal dept.
Just let them know you are looking for advice on where to find the information you need.

Heres a couple links (for US broadcasts)

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/public-and-broadcasting-july-2008

A Guide for Low Power Broadcasts
www.fcc.gov/guides/low-power-broadcast-radio-stations

forgot one more link
Obscene, Indecent and Profane Broadcasts
http://www.fcc.gov/guides/obscenity-indecency-and-profanity