Study- TV shows depict more sex

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Sex on television is heating up, but more TV programs are including the risks and responsibilities of sexual behavior, a study released Tuesday found.

The percentage of shows depicting or implying sexual intercourse rose from 10 percent two years ago to 14 percent in the 2001-02 season, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation study.

The rate was even higher for the 20 top shows among teenage viewers: 20 percent of those programs included implied or depicted intercourse, the study found.

The foundation's initial TV sex study, released in 1999, found that 7 percent of shows overall included intercourse; previous studies did not detail figures for shows favored by teenagers.

If television is becoming more boldly titillating, it's also more honest, according to the biennial study.

Among shows with depictions or talk about intercourse, 26 percent had a "safer sex" reference to topics such as abstinence or possible fallout from unprotected sex, the study found. That's double the rate found four years ago.

Of shows with any sexual content -- including talking about sex, kissing and intimate touching -- 15 percent included safer sex references, up from 10 percent two years ago.

A student facing an unplanned pregnancy on "Boston Public," a man diagnosed with AIDS on "ER," and a mother-daughter sex talk on "The Young and the Restless" were among examples cited by researchers.

For shows with sexual content involving teenagers, 34 percent included a safer sex reference, nearly double the 18 percent rate found four years ago.

"It's good to see that some in the Hollywood community are seizing the opportunity to play a positive role," said Vicky Rideout, the Kaiser Family Foundation vice president who oversaw the study.

The rate of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies, particularly among impressionable adolescents, makes such an approach important, Rideout said.

Most teenagers cite TV as an important source of information about sex, according to studies cited by the foundation. Other studies have found a correlation between watching programs with sexual content and the early initiation of intercourse, the Kaiser report said.

Why is the entertainment industry focusing more on sexual repercussions? Rideout suggests one reason is such attention-getting efforts by the Kaiser Foundation and other groups.

"Also, I think folks in Hollywood have found they can be totally entertaining, successfully entertaining, and do good at the same time," she said.

For NBC's "ER," the first rule is entertainment, not education, supervising producer Joe Sachs said in a telephone interview. "We have a double victory" if a show can accomplish both, he said.

"We always start with the emotional, dramatic needs of the characters," he said. "We never sit around the room and say, 'What can we do this week that will serve the public health of the nation?"'

But, he added, "we know that we have a responsibility, so we try to portray things accurately."

The study was released at a news conference, which was followed by a panel discussion including members of the entertainment industry and experts on teenagers and the media.

"I am blown away ... at how much sexual content there is in primetime television," said Paramount Television president Garry Hart. "It's a tidal wave."

The media must act responsibly, Hart said, but is not required to educate. If TV programs end up with nothing but messages, no one will watch, he said.