TV & VIDEO - April 14, 1988

KABC-TV Channel 7 this week refused to air three versions of a sexy TV spot for a controversial film compilation of opera arias because they were “offensive,” a spokesman for the film, “Aria,” said Wednesday. A letter from KABC’s standards and practices office detailed the undesirable elements of the ads, including “a close-up of a woman’s cleavage as she (or someone) is taking off her clothing.” The spots were originally intended to air during ABC’s “Nightline,” now they’ll air during NBC’s “Late Night With David Letterman” on KNBC-TV Channel 4. The controversial film, which has its West Coast premiere tonight at the American Film Institute’s Film Festival, consists of short films from 10 directors--including Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Altman, Ken Russell, Nicolas Roeg and others--each featuring a visualization of different opera arias. An employee at KABC--which has been widely criticized for the sexual content of its ratings sweeps news programming--said there was no one at the station available to comment on the commercial dispute.