Super Bowl Primer

Posted Feb 2, 2007 by Kevin Walker

Updated Feb 2, 2007 at 09:26 AM

Today’s question: “Why the ‘safe’ choices for Super Bowl halftime shows?” The quick answers:

1. Insane FCC rules.

2. Money and careers.

What happened: During the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson’s clothes, exposing a breast nipple (covered by a piece of jewelry) for a few seconds. Some 200,000 people called CBS to complain. Interestingly, far fewer complained about Kid Rock and P. Diddy repeatedly grabbing their crotches.

Knees start jerking: The FCC “investigated.” Congress increased fines for “indecency.” The media spilled tons of ink and spent many broadcast hours on the “shocking” incident.

Pay up: The FCC fined Viacom, which owns CBS, $550,000. AOL, the halftime show sponsor, demanded its $10 million fee back from the NFL. CBS announced that show-producer MTV would not work on a Super Bowl again, perhaps costing MTV millions in lost future cash. After the “wardrobe malfunction,” breast-owner Jackson’s career tumbled while breast-exposer Timberlake’s did not. It would take an entire issue of Friday Extra to discuss the societal implications of that.

Meanwhile: The FCC and Congress could boast they had been tough. Meanwhile, a recent Parents Television Council study found violence on television has reached “epidemic” proportions, increasing 75 percent the last six years.

And so: Mainstream pop culture acts are only provocative if it makes money, and since “provocative” cost money in 2004, the NFL and CBS are playing it safe. Oddly, this year’s choice is the used-to-be-anything-but-safe Prince. I’d love for him to do something outrageous to illustrate the FCC’s hypocrisy - you know there’s part of him that wants to - but let’s face it: Prince has a career to think about, too.