One in four adults feels there is too much sex on TV

One in four adults in the UK feels that there is too much sex on television and more than a third think there is too much violence, according to new research by Ofcom.

The media regulator has today (August 23) released the results of its annual survey into consumer attitudes towards UK television, charting the changing course of public opinion to the small screen.

In 2011, 25% of adults considered there to be too much sexual content in TV programmes, while 36% felt the same for violence and 37% said so for swearing.

However, the proportion of adults taking offence across all three areas was down on 2005 figures, when 36%, 56% and 55% of people surveyed felt there was too much sex, violence and swearing respectively on television.

Last year, 19% of adults said that they had been offended by something they had seen on TV over the past 12 months, but that was down from 32% in 2005.

The majority of people in the UK also believe that the 9pm watershed on television is positioned right to protect children from potentially unsuitable programming.

Ofcom found that three quarters (77%) of British adults in 2011 felt that 9pm is right for the watershed, up from 64% in 2005.

Only around 9% of people surveyed indicated that the watershed was "too late", although that was up from 6% in 2005. Around one in ten (12%) felt that the watershed was "too early", down from 24% in 2005.

The majority (96%) of adults said that they were aware that broadcasters are allowed to show programming unsuitable for children only after the 9pm watershed.

Overall, three quarters (74%) of respondents felt the current levels of TV regulation were "about right", but Ofcom noted that the adoption of new viewing technologies such as video on-demand was "likely to raise longer term questions about the regulation of programming".

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In terms of the quality of TV programmes, 55% of adults said that the standard had "stayed the same" over the past 12 months, up from 47% in 2005.

The proportion of adults saying that standards had "got worse" fell from 40% in 2005 to 31% in 2011. The percentage saying standards had improved has stayed approximately flat over the six-year comparative period, at 12%.

Older respondents were found to be more likely to view standards as declining, at 46% of those aged over 65, while younger people (16-34s) were more likely to see standards as having improved (18%).

The top two reasons given for TV getting worse were "more repeats" (71%) and a "lack of variety" (43%). The major reasons for standards getting better were a "wider range of programmes" (59%) and "improved quality" (46%).