system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[ELi5] Why can they play movies on TV with explicit language and violence on any channel but they can't play songs with explicit language on the radio?

Always wondered this because children watch tv and have access to all of the channels the same way that they do on the radio.
gpt
There are very specific FCC rules about language and adult content on *broadcast* television. The FCC regulates such content on radio and television broadcasts.

However, the FCC doesn't have that same regulatory authority over cable/satellite transmissions. So, if it's a channel that isn't broadcast, but only available through a satellite or cable provider, then it's really up to the channel itself what kind of language and content they have.

The distinction is the same on radio -- satellite radio can have content that terrestrial radio would never be permitted to air.