Saving Private Ryan - Christian's complain

[strandinthewind]

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) has confirmed it received complaints about the uncensored broadcast of Oscar-winning war movie "Saving Private Ryan" on ABC-affiliated stations last week.

An FCC (news - web sites) official said several complaints were filed Friday, the day after the Veterans Day broadcast, but couldn't say how many or who or where they are from. The commission has to have a complaint before it can take action.

Groups affiliated with the American Family Assn., a conservative Christian group that monitors the airwaves, pledged Thursday to flood the FCC with complaints about the language and violence in Steven Spielberg's film.
All told, "Ryan" aired in about 71% of the country, according to Nielsen data. Of ABC's 225 affiliates, 159 went ahead with "Ryan," while 66 did not. All of ABC's owned stations aired "Ryan," though stations in major markets including Boston, Atlanta and Nashville declined.

An ABC spokeswoman said Friday that the network received favorable viewer feedback and was willing to respond to any complaints the FCC receives. The network issued a statement standing by its decision.

"ABC applauds the majority of its local television affiliates across the country who chose to be part of this important Veterans' Day television event," the network said.

Despite the fact that about 30% of ABC's stations pre-empted "Ryan," the film's ratings were strong enough to power the network's to its best performance in total viewers and the coveted adults 18-49 demographic this season. An audience of 7.7 million tuned in.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter