Radio & online
Radio and online do not have Watersheds. Our scheduling and publishing decisions need to be relevant to the audience expectations of each radio network and online service and informed by our knowledge of when children are particularly likely to be listening or whether online content is likely to appeal to a high proportion of children. For example, children are particularly likely to be in our radio audience at breakfast time, during the school run and school holidays, which vary throughout the UK. We should also take care to ensure that the transition to more adult material is not unduly abrupt. Decisions about online apply equally to user generated content and third party websites as to content created by the BBC.
We should consider how far audience expectations are influenced by the platform on which user generated content appears. Internet-based user generated content which is also carried on television or radio may raise different expectations to the same material carried on personal computers.
We need to anticipate possible problems when broadcasting "live" radio programmes and deal with them promptly and sensitively if they occur.
We should normally play edited versions ("broadcast versions") of music which would otherwise feature unsuitable material including offensive language or violent content for mainstream daytime audiences. At night and in specialist music programmes, the original "adult" version may be editorially justified.
We should consider using on air announcements to inform listeners about programmes which contain difficult or controversial material on our speech services such as Radio 4, Radio 5 Live, the World Service and other national and local stations broadcast programmes. These services are predominantly for adult listeners and their audiences expect to hear a full range of issues and events explored throughout the schedule.
Our live online services, where users provide content connected to a television or radio programme, should take the same approach to harm and offence as the programme itself and should reflect the sensitivities of the likely audience.
Websites linked to specific programmes should not contain material considered unsuitable for broadcasting in the associated programmes.