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Venezuelan TV station punished for daytime broadcast of The Simpsons

03.07.2008 15:00 Arts - Source: cbc.ca

The Venezuelan broadcast regulator received complaints about The Simpsons when it aired in a daytime slot.(Associated Press)

Venezuela's broadcast regulator has decided on a punishment for the local TV station that aired The Simpsons in a daytime slot: public service announcements.

The National Telecommunications Commission said Monday that Caracas-based channel Televen must include short announcements, including "cultural and educational messages," in its lineup every day for the next 30 days.

In early April, Televen officials removed The Simpsons from its 11 a.m. time slot after the commission received complaints from viewers.

The commission said showing the animated cartoon series at that hour could violate national regulations prohibiting "messages that go against the whole education of boys, girls and adolescents."

In its place, the network broadcast Baywatch Hawaii, a spinoff of the original U.S. series about scantily clad lifeguards patrolling beaches.

Two weeks later, Televen officials brought The Simpsons back — albeit at its 7 p.m. time slot.

Created by Matt Groening, The Simpsons follows the story of the titular family dealing with life in a small American town.

Written as a celebration and, sometimes, satire of pop culture, the show is the longest-running U.S. sitcom in prime time and broadcast in more than 60 countries worldwide.

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