Serbia's television watchdog has announced plans to relegate reality shows to a late-night slot following repeated complaints about explicit content. The new rules, reported by the Beta news agency, will restrict such programmes to after 23:00. Goran Karadzic, head of the Regulatory Authority of Electronic Media, said the ruling will become obligatory after a 15-day public discussion period. Broadcasters have been asked to voluntarily implement the watershed in the meantime.
Reality shows have been popular in Serbia since their introduction in 2006, but concerns over inappropriate behaviour have escalated. An online petition calling for a ban on four shows gathered over 100,000 signatures, according to Balkan Insight. Incidents include on-screen sex, physical fights, and a convicted criminal on the show The Farm whose jail sentence was reportedly delayed to allow him to complete filming. One prosecutor has even sought to ban The Farm outright, as reported by b92 TV.
Milomir Maric, an executive from Happy TV, which airs the show Couples, described the new rules as 'excessive' but said the channel would comply. 'Those who think they will change Serbia by banning reality shows are megalomaniacs,' he told Vecernje Novosti. 'Even if they were taken off the air, Serbia would remain the same.'
A spokesman for the Pink channel, which broadcasts The Farm, confirmed the show will not be recommissioned but denied the decision was influenced by the new watershed.
