Posted on 02/26/2004 8:11:24 PM PST by mhking
Just a few weeks after promising to clean up its act during daytime hours because of Janet Jackson's Super Bowl bra-ha-ha, MTV is baring all again.
Britney Spears' graphic sex romp "Toxic" is back in heavy rotation around the clock.
So are controversial videos from Blink 182 (although edited a bit) and Maroon 5.
MTV officials, under heavy criticism for producing the R-rated Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 1, had vowed afterward to do the "responsible" thing and pull such explicit music videos from daytime viewing.
Instead, the music channel said it would air them only late at night - when fewer young people and families would be watching.
So what happened?
An MTV spokeswoman explained the network's backflip this way:
"We decided to take a temperature check, we listened to the audience, we wanted to make sure we still felt good about the images on MTV."
Now that some of the initial shock of the Jackson nip slip is over, she said: "The audience ... decided they wanted to see these artists."
"Toxic" has been on again at all hours for about 10 days, showing voluptuous Britney writhing on the floor, wearing a mesh outfit, and carrying on with all sorts of guys.
Blink 182's "I Miss You" was replaced by a European version of the video, without the offending material. MTV said it never asked for the alternate version, but it was supplied by the record company after "I Miss You" was limited to late-night showings.
Another controversial video, "Splash Waterfalls" by Ludacris, is still banished to the hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
MTV's initial move to take the sexually explicit videos off the air during the day came amid the furor over the Super Bowl halftime show.
The network's leaders - as well as Mel Karmazin, president of parent company CBS Viacom - received a torrent of criticism over Jackson's breast-baring dirty dance with Justin Timberlake.
Karmazin vowed to clean up the airwaves, and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue pointed the finger of blame at MTV.
Spears' "Toxic" video had originally started airing on MTV Jan. 15. Even though it was off the daytime hours for a short time after the Super Bowl, it remained a popular video on the network's highlight show "Total Request Live."
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Excellent.
Must be getting crowded in there. Their thermometer has to go where their heads are already lodged.
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