United Kingdom Viewers feel that the portrayal of sex and sexual relationships in programmes has improved and modernised, according to Ofcom’s latest study into audience attitudes towards sex and violence on television.

Participants in the research generally consider that the level of sexual content on TV has remained high but steady in recent years. But many viewers also opined they’ve observed changes in how sexual relationships are portrayed, with TV programmes now considered less likely to include gender stereotyping, objectification of women or uncritical depictions of exploitative relationships.

Viewers also consider that intimate scenes are less likely to be portrayed from an exclusively male perspective by default. They recognise that broadcasters place greater focus on the issue of consent in sexual relationships and on female sexual empowerment, Ofcom said in a statement yesterday, elaborating on the research.

Parents in particular felt that TV has an important role today in providing positive role models in this respect, with the character Connell in BBC drama, Normal People, mentioned as an example.

In the context of rapidly changing viewing habits and discussions about regulation of on-demand services, Ofcom also released yesterday a second study to better understand what audiences expect from different content on TV and on-demand.

People in the study said they saw a distinction between live broadcast TV and subscription on-demand services, such as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, but did not separate broadcaster on-demand services, such as ITVX and iPlayer, from live broadcast TV in the same way.

They have different expectations of content depending on how they are watching it. Many felt that subscription streaming services offer ‘edgier’ content, including Amazon Prime’s ‘The Boys’, Disney +’s ‘The Punisher’ and Netflix’s ‘Jimmy Carr: His Dark Materials’. But this was deemed acceptable due to audiences selecting what to watch rather than stumbling across it.

Ofcom said it periodically conducts research among viewers and listeners to understand how attitudes, tastes and tolerances can change over time. These studies can help broadcasters to better understand audience expectations and what steps they may need to take to protect them.

Such surveys and research, according to the regulator, also help Ofcom’s Broadcasting Standards experts to understand and take account of current audiences’ views when making decisions about content, while having full regard to freedom of expression.