Saving Private Ryan from Everyman

Where Aired, 'Private Ryan' Draws a Crowd
Washington Post
By Lisa de Moraes
Saturday, November 13, 2004; Page C01

An average of 7.7 million people watched ABC's unedited broadcast of "Saving Private Ryan" on Veterans Day -- a remarkable number given that viewers in nearly one-third of the country did not have the opportunity to decide for themselves whether the graphic Academy Award-winning, Steven Spielberg-directed, World War II epic was appropriate viewing in their homes.

That's because 65 of ABC's more than 220 affiliate stations appear to have refused to air the movie, including such large markets as Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, Orlando and Detroit, from among the 56 that are metered by Nielsen Media Research and tend to be among the country's biggest markets.

"Saving Private Ryan" includes many instances of an expletive for which TV stations may receive fines. Most of the stations that refused to broadcast the movie are owned by a handful of media companies, including Hearst-Argyle Television, Cox Broadcasting, Scripps Howard Broadcasting, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Young Broadcasting, Citadel Communications, Pappas Telecasting and Belo Corp.

Officials from some of these companies said they felt it was their civic duty to preempt the flick: