The Parents Television Council has alerted the nation’s top 200 advertisers about the anticipated violent and sexual content on ABC’s Of Kings and Prophets, premiering on March 8 and which the showrunner to HBO’s explicit Game of Thrones, saying, “It’s suspenseful. It’s extraordinarily violent. It’s sexual. … We’ve sought to make the show modern. … This is a non-dragon version of Game of Thrones.”
In a letter to each TV sponsor, the PTC warns, “Although it is a mini-series based on the Old Testament, you should be aware that showrunners for the series have already broadcast their intention to ‘go as far as we can’ with depictions of sex and violence in the series. … At the Television Critics Association winter press tour, showrunner Chris Brancato boasted, ‘These stories are violent and sex-drenched. We’re going to go as far as we can … we’ll be fighting with broadcast standards and practices.’ Some of the content will be so explicit, Brancato said, that it may not even air on television, but will only be available online, where there are fewer restrictions.”
“We are urging each potential sponsor of Of Kings and Prophets to carefully weigh whether an ‘extraordinarily violent’ and ‘sexual’ broadcast TV show that has been compared to an explicit premium cable TV show is truly a good fit for their corporate image. TV shows that are filled with sex and violence will only remain on the public airwaves as long as advertisers are willing to sponsor them. We urge companies to use caution when considering whether or not to advertise on this show, especially if the show’s content is comparable to HBO’s Game of Thrones,” said PTC President Tim Winter.
“Sex and violence don’t always sell, as demonstrated by recent research by Ohio State University that found advertising on such programs decrease advertising effectiveness. Advertisers have a big and important responsibility to the program’s viewers: What they sponsor allows programs to remain on the air, for better or worse. Without advertisers, TV shows do not exist.
“We will be alerting our members to the sponsors of the miniseries, and urging them to make their buying decisions accordingly. We hope advertisers take heed and choose to put their sponsorship dollars towards programming that isn’t saturated with sex and violence and which could harm children.”
