Victoria's Secret Fashion Show - Critical Review

Critical Review

The early webcasts were criticized for poor connection and those that could were subjected to low video quality. One critic from The New York Times described the initial 20th century webcast experience as having felt like he was "watching a striptease through a keyhole".

Some critics have described the 21st century televised editions of the show as pornographic, while others have described it as both "outright commercialism" and an infomercial. The Federal Communications Commission has received complaints regarding the broadcast, but no fines have been imposed, with the FCC, following the 2001 airing, citing the First Amendment and stating that "sexual or excretory activities or organs in a patently offensive manner as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium" were not broadcast. In the initial 2001 airing ABC blurred the screen on particularly sheer lingerie. This enabled the show to pass muster with its internal Broadcast Standards and Practices department and to achieve the TV-14 rating. In 2002, the National Organization for Women protested the show calling it a "soft-core porn infomercial." They were joined in protest by the Parents Television Council and other watchdog organizations. CBS has given past shows TV-14 ratings, which is a warning that the show may contain material unsuitable for children age 14 and under. Nonetheless some affiliates have chosen not to air the show in past years including Fisher Broadcasting affiliates in Idaho. To this day, London Broadcasting Company in Texas refuses to air the show. In 2009, the American Decency Association organized email letters of protests to sponsors of the show including AT&T, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Netflix, Nikon, and Reebok.