Television
MIA May Flip the Bill for Super Bowl Bird
According to TMZ, the NFL and NBC got smart after Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction in 2004 and now requires all performers to sign a contract that would indemnify the NFL for any money it might be forced to pay if the FCC subjects a fine.
The US advocacy group Parents Television Council (PTC) seem the most upset of the incident.
“NBC fumbled and the NFL lied because a performer known as M.I.A. felt it necessary to flip off millions of families,” said PTC President Tim Winter in a statement. “It is unfortunate that a spectacular sporting event was overshadowed once again by broadcasting the selfish acts of a desperate performer.”
“The mechanism NBC had in place to catch this type of material completely failed, and the network cannot say it was caught off guard,” said Winter. “It has been eight years since the Janet Jackson striptease, and both NBC and the NFL knew full well what might happen. They chose a lineup full of performers who have based their careers on shock, profanity and titillation. Instead of preventing indecent material, they enabled it.”
This would not be the first time the FCC has fined a network for inappropriate actions during a Super Bowl performance. Since 2004 CBS has been fighting a battle against the FCC for a $500,000 fine it imposed on the network due to Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction.