Is there any way I can turn this damn parental control off?

[Kei+M]

As of 17th August 20, we've started to show pre-watershed content before 21:00 on Sky Atlantic, Sky Comedy, and Sky Documentaries. You'll be asked for a PIN for these programmes on these channels.

If you've turned off parental controls you'll still be asked for your PIN at certain times. This is largely in part due to a number of pieces of legislation set out by the regulator.

A frustrated Wobbles1970 asks:- is there any way I can turn this damn parental control off?  

It’s now 19:35pm and I’m watching Rogue One, I’m 47 and my wife is getting on in years. I can’t see why I need to put the PIN in every time. I’ve turned off all the parental controls off already.

I’m sure those of us who don’t have any sprogs or they’ve already fled the nest can relate to Wobble1970’s pain. 

Is this a bug?

Many people will think this is a bug but Ofcom sets out clear guidelines as to when certain material can be shown. Most of us will have some familiarity with the watershed, this simply means any material unsuitable for children shouldn’t be shown before 21:00pm or after 05:30am. Failure to comply with the watershed results in a punishment ranging from a slap on the wrist to a hefty bill as dished out to Discovery in 2014.

Ofcom

“Ofcom is the communications regulator in the UK. We regulate the TV, radio and video-on-demand sectors, fixed-line telecoms (phones), mobiles and postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate.”

If you're a pay TV service, that's us, you get a little more wiggle room and you can show post-watershed content before 21:00pm as long as you have “mandatory restricted access in place” (that’s the PIN to me and you). You'll notice it on some On Demand content and on some channels such as Sky Cinema, Sky Atlantic, Sky Documentaries, and Sky Comedy.

How does it work?

In practice, this means you'll always be asked for a PIN when viewing:-

• Programmes with an age rating of 12 or 15 will require the PIN if requested before 20:00pm
• Programmes with an age rating of 18 will require the PIN if requested before 21:00pm
• Programmes with a rating PG / U will only require the PIN if the parental settings have been set to require one
• We'll also set a PIN on some adult themed On Demand content
• Some broadcasters review their own content (BBC & Channel 4 do this) and may require the PIN

Now the eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed that some of your streaming services don’t appear to have these restrictions…………And you would be right. The Ofcom broadcasting code only covers TV and radio. Sigh.

Using Parental Settings on Sky Q

[video]

If you would like some more information on how to get the most from your Sky TV PIN, check out our articles here:-

• Your Sky TV PIN
• Managing parental settings

Sources:-

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10972185/Discovery-fined-for-showing-torture-and-disme...