So long, PTC: Conservative TV watchdog group files for bankruptcy

Rose to fame due to Nippelgate

After a three-decade run, the infamous Parents Television Council is no more.

Known more recently as The Parents Television and Media Council, the watchdog group that terrorized free speech advocates, television executives, and Hollywood filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week, revealing $92,000 in assets and $285,000 in liabilities. The organization’s membership has dwindled since its late-2000s heyday and hasn’t been influential in quite some time.

The group was founded in 1995 by Brent Bozell as a spin-off of the conservative Media Research Center, and it pressured advertisers into pulling ads from programs they deemed “morally bankrupt.” Among the shows they targeted were Married…With Children, Jerry Springer, WWE Smackdown, Family Guy, and countless others. When the infamous Nipplegate incident happened during the Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime Show, the PTC claimed it was responsible for a quarter of complaints sent to the FCC, with the agency fining CBS $550,000, which was thrown out on appeal.

At one point, the PTC exerted significant influence in Hollywood and Washington, leading to congressional pressure that prompted changes. Racier content shifted to alternative platforms (such as cable and later streaming), with viewers and listeners following suit. The Nipplegate controversy and the media industry’s growing concern about controversial content led Howard Stern to leave terrestrial radio for satellite, as he joined Sirius in 2006.

The organization also had an impact on pop culture. After losing a lawsuit against the WWE for saying their wrestling shows caused children’s death, the Stamford, Conn.-based company took advantage and created a storyline on its Raw and Smackdown shows with wrestler Stevie (nee Steven) Richards fronting the group “Right To Censor”. In 2013, the FCC fined a Los Angeles station for airing a racy Spanish-language talk show modeled after Jerry Springer, which featured bleeped and unbleeped swearing, plexilated nudity, and on-stage fighting. The indecency complaints came from GLAAD and the National Hispanic Media Coalition, but curiously, not the PTC. Then-station owner Liberman Broadcasting agreed to the consent decree and paid the fine.

Recently, the influence of the PTC has decreased as television has experienced significant changes, from Peak TV to the rise of streaming platforms and the proliferation of FAST channels, providing viewers with more programming options.. Not surprisingly, the PTC started going after Netflix over several shows (such as Cuties). But there is a significant difference between programming received for free on broadcast channels and choosing to bring programming into your home (like a Netflix subscription), as their arguments no longer held weight. Today, the issues regarding television have shifted away from sex, swearing, and violence to DEI and speech against President Trump and conservatives, if the Super Bowl Halftime Show controversy is any indication, as it’s no longer about Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction”, but Latin superstar (and Trump critic) Bad Bunny singing and performing in Spanish.

One former member of the PTC (Dan Isett)  landed a job as a spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Department of Education and referred to Nexstar-owned NBC affiliate KFOR Oklahoma City as an “illegitimate news operation” as the station investigated the agency and was barred from covering their press conferences until a judge said it was a violation of the First Amendment. Isett was fired from his position in February.

T Dog Media has been a staunch critic of the Parents Television Council over the years, as even this site wasn’t immune from their barbs. On two occasions, the creator and writer of this site (you know who he is) sparred with someone from the organization on two occasions in the comments section of the former Broadcasting & Cable website. When I did a “worst person of the week” award on this site in 2007, they won hands down. I’ve referred to them as the “Prick Tofu Curd” and the “Piss Turd Council” during a time when this site was much more loose with the mouth than it is now.

While the PTC is finally gone, issues involving the First Amendment remain, as the White House and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr have certainly taken up the mantle. The PTC’s crusade became useless as the same people who complained about the awful things they were accusing Hollywood of were doing all along (Trump’s multiple marriages, Republican politicians swearing, pedophile controversies, January 6, etc.) It’s little wonder the PTC rebranded itself as a “bipartisan” organization. As television has evolved (for better or worse), The Parents Television and Media Council joins The National Coalition On Television Violence, Action For Children’s Television, and The Viewers of Quality Television in the dustbin along with analog transmissions, programming produced in standard definition, and big tube TVs.

Good riddance.