Content that irks the Continentals

When the BBC recently announced that it would air “Jerry Springer: The Opera,” the West End hit famous for its vulgarity and a cast of characters including transsexuals and a man wearing a diaper, no one batted an eye.

In Britain, after all, the biggest-selling daily newspaper carries a photograph of a bare-breasted woman every day.

The musical inspired by the self-consciously salacious talk show will air uncut, though in keeping with the country’s rules, it will be shown after 9 p.m. with a warning that it may not be appropriate for children.

“The climate in the U.K. is much more liberal than in the United States regarding the kind of sexual content that there is on TV,” said professor David Buckingham, a specialist in television at London University. “The Janet Jackson breast incident at the Super Bowl probably wouldn’t have attracted much interest here.”

Still, the issue is debated in Europe too. The difference is that the content on the Continent would make many Americans blush.

In Germany, there’s a lot of leeway about nudity and sexuality. Recently the mass-market Bild newspaper ran a front-page story -- complete with topless photo -- suggesting that a starlet’s full-frontal nude scenes were cut from her TV movie because she wasn’t pretty enough.

A national media commission was set up last year to promote standards for TV, radio and the Internet. It was a response to a 2002 school massacre in Erfurt, Germany, carried out by a former student who authorities believe may have been inspired by violent video games.

The panel has gone so far as to order that reality shows about cosmetic surgery -- including a German version of “The Swan” -- be shown after 11 p.m., because it was concerned that such programs sent the wrong message to children about “human worth.”

Stations that break the rule can be heavily fined.

In addition, the popular German version of “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!” -- in which German stars performed stomach-turning stunts -- prompted some hand-wringing this year. But no ban was considered.

In Italy, the Communications Authority ruled in 2002 that every “adults only” TV program must air after 10:30 p.m. and be announced as unsuitable for children. Films shown on television are given a rating regarding their suitability for youths.

Despite that, daily Italian TV is full of scandalizing shows.

The latest edition of “Big Brother” stirred a nationwide debate as participants threw parties with binge drinking, on-air sex and heavy cursing.

Earlier this year, a new plastic surgery show called “Bisturi! Nessuno e Perfetto” (Scalpel! No One Is Perfect) stunned many viewers.

It featured a flat-chested young woman baring her breasts for implant surgery. The scalpel sliced through flesh, blood spurted, and viewers deluged the network with protests. Consumer groups urged prosecutors to consider obscenity charges, but the show has not been fined.

For years, there was no debate about nudity or sexual explicitness on television in Spain (where independent commercial TV stations emerged in 1989 after years of repression and censorship under the Franco regime). And the country had no regulations about TV content.

But that changed this month when a campaign against telebasura, or “trash TV,” prompted the government and Spain’s three main broadband TV stations to sign a code of conduct to safeguard children. The time a program can be shown depends on its intended audience.

In Russia, shows considered too racy for children must be shown after 11 p.m. -- after which some stations show fairly explicit erotica. But there’s a debate underway about the possibly harmful effects of TV violence.

Nonetheless, Russia doesn’t know what to make of the American hubbub over “Desperate Housewives” actress Nicollette Sheridan dropping her towel and jumping nude into NFL star Terrell Owens’ arms or TV stations refusing to run “Saving Private Ryan” for fear of FCC fines.

As far as Konstantin Isakov of the MR&MC; media consulting group is concerned, they only show that “life is less chaotic there, people generally obey the laws and, as a result, there’s nothing better to talk about.”