“The Walking Dead” Season 7 premiere raised a lot of eyebrows with the over the top violence showcased in its very first episode. The gory details were too much for most of the viewers which included even the die-hard fans of the series. The violence crossed the borders of sanity so much so that some viewers even communicated their displeasure through social media against the same and also quit watching the series completely.
The FCC hasno control on cable networks
The more startling fact is that “The Walking Dead” is that very TV serieswhich has bleeped out even the F word in all its previous seasons so the sudden display of senseless violence is shocking everyone who has seen the episodes till now.
It is also important to note that though the content is regulated by FCC (Federal Communications Commission), it only applies to broadcast network that includes NBC, ABC and the likes as the broadcast network spectrum is owned by the government. FCC doesn’t and cannot regulate cable networks and thus it has been flooded with high levels of violence and nudity.
AMC that airs "The Walking Dead" fears the advertisers
Though networks like HBO and Showtime have become more popular because of the usage of high profanity, nudity and violence in their content, the cable networks like AMC have pushed the envelope further. So in a way AMC is as free and in fact more free to air as much violence and nudity as it wants to.
But AMC has a different game to play as well, it is concerned about the advertisers too as it is not a fully subscription based network.
Violence is okay but profane language is not
The question still remains, Why would AMC be okay with the long violent and extremely disturbing scenes but not okay with the F–word? The one answer which could be the possible reason is that the advertisers have no issues and are not concerned with the level of violence or nudity in a TV show but are concerned about the profane language. Also profane language has a easier definition which can be adhered to as compared to violence and nudity which has subjective meanings and limits.
