Key Points
- The FCC is reviewing whether the TV ratings system still helps parents make informed viewing decisions.
- The inquiry follows complaints about how certain content, including gender-related topics, is rated for children.
- The FCC is seeking public input on whether current ratings standards are consistent and effective across TV and streaming platforms.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has opened a case that seeks public comment on whether the television industry’s voluntary ratings system is still an effective tool in helping parents decide which shows and movies to allow their children to watch.
In a public notice issued on Wednesday, the FCC’s Media Bureau said the probe comes as more parents complain to the agency and lawmakers that certain TV shows aimed at children include social issues that some consider mature, including gender-identity topics.
“The industry guidelines that parents rely on are rating shows with transgender and gender non-binary programming as appropriate for children and young children, and doing so without providing this information to parents, thereby undermining the ability of parents to make informed choices for their families,” the Media Bureau wrote.
The country’s TV ratings system is rooted in legislation passed by Congress in 1996, through which lawmakers gave the broadcast and cable TV industry a choice: Create a voluntary approach to rating TV content, or we’ll do it for you.
Two years later, the industry chose to install its own ratings system, overseen by a consortium of broadcast and cable network owners called the TV Oversight Management Board (TVOMB). The owners of the “Big Four” broadcast networks — Comcast’s NBC Universal, Paramount, Fox Corporation and the Walt Disney Company — participate in the TVOMB, as do cable network owners like AMC Global Media, A+E Global Media and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).
Over time, the amount of TV content available to Americans has exploded, as have the number of platforms through which shows and movies are distributed. The Media Bureau suggests that TV grades, which range from TV-G (everyone) to TV-MA (mature audiences), and content ratings like “V” for violence and “L” for language aren’t consistently applied across broadcast channels, cable networks and streaming platforms that use the same ratings for their shows, including Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video.
Those ratings are not only used to inform audiences of the content of shows and movies they’re about to watch, but are also linked to technology called “V-Chip,” which allows adults to block shows and movies airing on TV based on their overall and content-specific ratings. V-Chip technology is required for all TV sets manufactured since 2000, and most streaming devices include similar functions on a voluntary basis.
The last time the FCC explored the issue of content ratings was 2019, during the first administration of President Donald Trump, during which the Media Bureau recommended that the TVOMB increase the accessibility of public inspection files related to comments about TV ratings, improve its marketing to increase public awareness of the group and consider random audits of TV ratings that are applied to linear and streaming TV shows alike.
Now, the FCC wants to know if the TVOMB acted on their suggestions and how well they are implemented, and whether TV ratings are doing enough to shield children from potentially-sensitive content.
The notice issued on Wednesday only pointed to gender-specific content aimed at children as problematic. The FCC didn’t provide specific examples of shows or movies that raised concerns among parents, and it wasn’t clear how often the agency heard about those issues from the public.
It wasn’t clear from the notice what regulatory authority the FCC might have in improving the TV ratings system or replacing the current model with one of its own. The FCC regulates broadcast TV content on certain elements, including whether a program contains indecent material, but doesn’t have authority over shows and movies aired on cable and distributed by streaming services.
The public notice appears to be the latest example of Carr using his authority at the FCC to clamp down on content that he considers personally or politically offensive. Earlier this year, Carr indicated that daytime and late-night talk shows will no longer be exempt from the FCC’s “Equal Time” rules when they air interviews with candidates running for office; the exemption allows news programs to interview candidates without providing an equitable amount of time to their opponents.
Last year, Carr influenced two major broadcast TV station groups — Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair, Inc. — to pull episodes of ABC’s late night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from their affiliates following a politically-tinged monologue connected to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. During a podcast appearance, Carr encouraged ABC affiliate owners to pre-empt the show because of the monologue.
After Nexstar and Sinclair pulled the program, ABC announced it was putting Kimmel’s show on hiatus. The show returned to ABC about a week later, and to Sinclair and Nexstar’s ABC affiliates a few days after that.
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