TV Parental Guidelines
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The TV Parental Guidelines system was first proposed on December 19, 1996 by the United States Congress, the television industry and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and went into effect by January 1, 1997 on most major U.S. broadcast and cable networks in response to public concerns of increasingly explicit sexual content, graphic violence and strong profanity in television programs. It was established as a voluntary-participation system, with ratings to be determined by the individually-participating broadcast and cable networks.
It was specifically designed to be used with the V-chip, which was mandated to be built into all television sets manufactured since 2000, but the guidelines themselves have no legal force, and does not apply to news or sports programming, thus precluding networks like CNN, Fox News Channel, ESPN and Fox Sports Net from applying the ratings system, along with the majority of infomercials (which are classified the same as regular commercial break advertising, which also is not rated); however recently, this rule has stopped applying to some entertainment news and newsmagazine programs such as Extra and Access Hollywood which all now carry TV-PG ratings mainly due to fair use clip content from outside sources including reality television programming which is often above the TV-G threshold.
Ratings
TV-Y
(All children ages 0-6)[1]
Whether animated or live-action, the themes and elements in this program are specifically designed for a very young audience, including children from ages 0–6. These programs are not expected to frighten younger children.[1] Examples of programs issued this rating include Little Einsteins, Bob the Builder, Thomas and Friends, Dinosaur Train, Curious George, Mighty Machines, Sesame Street, Barney & Friends, Dora the Explorer,The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Go, Diego, Go!, "Hi-5", Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Bitty Adventures, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Some Nickelodeon cartoons are rated 'TV-Y' like * Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, * CatDog, * Rocko's Modern Life and * Rugrats.
TV-Y7
(Directed to children 7 and older)
These shows may or may not be appropriate for some children under the age of 7. This rating may include crude, suggestive humor, mild fantasy violence, or content considered too scary or controversial to be shown to children under seven. Examples include SpongeBob SquarePants, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Jimmy Two Shoes, Kid vs Kat, Pair of Kings, The Garfield Show, Atomic Betty, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?, The Ren and Stimpy Show, The Mighty B!, Planet Sheen, and others.
TV-Y7-FV
(Directed to children 7 and older with fantasy violence in shows)
When a show has noticeably more fantasy violence, it is assigned the TV-Y7-FV rating. Action-adventure shows such as Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Pokémon: Best Wishes!, T.U.F.F. Puppy, G.I. Joe: Renegades, Transformers: Prime, Chowder, and Yin Yang Yo! and series are assigned a TV-Y7-FV rating. Most Japanese anime dubbed and aimed at Children in the United States, are suggested with this rating such as Dragon Ball Z Kai, Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Beyblade: Metal Fusion, BraveStarr, Class of the Titans, Deltora Quest, and The Powerpuff Girls also carries this rating.
TV-G
(General audience)
Although this rating does not signify a program designed specifically for children, most parents may let younger children watch this program unattended. It contains little or no violence, no strong language and little or no sexual dialogue or situations, and can be enjoyed by a variety of age groups. Networks that air informational, religious, educational, how-to content, or generally inoffensive content (such as the Food Network and HGTV) usually apply a blanket TV-G rating to all of their shows (unless otherwise noted). Programming directed at preteens and teens on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel are rated TV-G. Some of TeenNick's programming, such as Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide and Drake & Josh are rated TV-G and TV-Y7 for mildly offensive language and innuendo. During the Twentieth Century most cartoons used this rating as a sign that the show contains comedic violence that is suitable for family viewing (i.e. Looney Tunes). This cartoon series was meant for adults and later for children after the television was invented by the mid fifties. A TV-G rated cartoon back during the early twentieth century featured a lot of violence and smoking. As of 2005, most TV-G rated shows usually have minimal or no violence and no use of smoking. Some Disney cartoons are rated 'TV-G' like Phineas and Ferb, Fish Hooks, Brandy and Mr. Whiskers and American Dragon: Jake Long.
TV-PG
(Parental guidance suggested)
This rating signifies that the program may be unsuitable for younger children without the guidance of a parent. Many parents may want to watch it with their younger children. Various game shows and most reality shows are rated TV-PG for their suggestive dialog, suggestive humor, and/or coarse language. Many prime-time series are given this rating, such as Everybody Loves Raymond and The Simpsons (though some recent episodes have aired with a TV-14 rating, the syndicated versions of those episodes have been rated down). Most music video shows (such as on MTV ), some Cartoon Network series such as Regular Show or Adventure Time, and all WWE programs (including those aired on Pay-Per-View) after 2008 are also rated TV-PG.
- The TV-PG rating may be accompanied by one or more of the following sub-ratings:
- D for some suggestive/mild flirtatious dialogue
- L for infrequent coarse language
- S for mild sexual content
- V for moderate violence
TV-14
(Parents strongly cautioned/May be unsuitable for children under 14 years of age)
Parents are strongly urged to exercise greater care in monitoring this program and are cautioned against letting children under 14 watch unattended. This rating may be accompanied by any of the following sub-ratings:
- D for intensely suggestive dialogue
- L for strong coarse language
- S for intense sexual situations
- V for intense violence
Many programs that air after 9 p.m. are rated TV-14, including late-night staples like The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live. Certain PG-13 or R-rated feature films are rated TV-14 when edited for broadcast. Anime series Bleach, Inuyasha and Naruto alternatively switch between a TV-PG and TV-14 rating. Most hour-long dramas are rated TV-14 such as House, Glee, CSI, Hawaii Five-0, and Grey's Anatomy. Prime-time sitcoms that are aimed at adult audiences such as American dad, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, Futurama (in Comedy Central airings only), The Simpsons (a few recent airings) and Scrubs will receive a TV-14 rating, with the shows airing on Fox having a viewer discretion advisory as well. Some music video shows (mainly during late night hours) have this rating. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) bears a rating of TV-14 in all of its programs due to its violence, sexual content and dialogue unlike its competitor, WWE, which bears a TV-PG rating. Like Science Channel's Destroyed in Seconds, and GSN's The Newlywed Game.
Live programming like televised awards ceremonies, concerts, and some specials are sometimes issued a general TV-14 rating, because of the possibility that profanity or suggestive dialogue may occur. [citation needed]
TV-MA
(Mature audience — unsuitable for audiences under 17)
A TV-MA rating means the program may be unsuitable for those below 17. This rating was originally TV-M in early 1997 but was changed because of a trademark dispute and to remove confusion with the ESRB's "M for Mature" rating for video games.[2] The program may contain extreme graphic violence, strong profanity, overtly sexual dialogue, very coarse language, nudity and/or strong sexual content. The vast majority of television shows that carry this rating are on cable and satellite TV; network television rarely airs any programming that would warrant such a rating, due to Federal Communications Commission indecency and obscenity guidelines that prevent most of this type of programming from airing on broadcast television. The film Schindler's List was the first network TV airing to display this rating, and the pilot episode of the CBS police drama Brooklyn South made this series the first network TV series to display the rating. Original programming airing in the late evening on some cable networks generally will carry this rating.
- This rating may be accompanied by any of the following sub-ratings:
- L for crude indecent language
- S for explicit sexual activity
- V for graphic violence
- D for strong suggestive dialogue (unused for different TV-MA shows)
The implications of these ratings, particularly the TV-MA rating, vary greatly depending on the situation. For example, South Park, which airs on Comedy Central, generally contains explicit language so it carries a TV-MA rating. Syndicated versions of South Park are heavily censored and cut, and employ a TV-14 rating instead. Yet other TV-MA programs on Comedy Central have no restrictions on language, (including the late-night "Secret Stash" airings of films such as South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, movies directed by Kevin Smith, the Jackass films, uncensored airings of stand-up comedy specials and the Comedy Central Roast series). Language may still be censored by a network, or air completely unfiltered depending on such factors as creative network choices, or the need to appeal to advertisers leery of placing spots on a TV-MA program. Adult Swim shows (particularly The Boondocks, Moral Orel, Xavier: Renegade Angel, and later seasons of Robot Chicken and Aqua Teen) are rated TV-MA. Other shows that are frequently rated TV-MA include FX's original programs, such as Nip/Tuck, The Shield, Rescue Me and Justified. Premium television services such as Showtime and HBO use TV-MA for most of their original programming. A blanket "TV-MA" rating is also usually given for softcore pornographic films or TV series airing on channels such as Cinemax and most of the Showtime networks, due to full-frontal nudity and the depiction of simulated sexual intercourse.
Development of the guidelines
In the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the United States Congress called upon the entertainment industry to establish, within one year, a voluntary television rating system (the TV Parental Guidelines) to provide parents with advance information on material in television programming that might be unsuitable for their children. This rating system would work in conjunction with the V-Chip, a devise in television sets that enables parents to block programming they determine to be inappropriate.
On February 29, 1996, all segments of the entertainment industry, led by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), joined together and voluntarily pledged to create such a system. They agreed that the guidelines would be applied by broadcast and cable networks in order to handle the huge amount of programming that must be reviewed—some 2,000 hours a day. The guidelines would be applied episodically to all programming with the exception of news, sports and advertising.
On December 19, 1996, the industry announced the creation of the TV Parental Guidelines, a voluntary system of guidelines providing parents with information to help them make more informed choices about the television programs their children watch. The guidelines were modeled after the MPAA movie ratings. The television industry agreed to insert a ratings icon on-screen at the beginning of all rated programs, and to encode the guidelines for use with the V-Chip.[3]
The ratings system was based on age, with each category providing guidance about the intended audience for TV shows carrying that rating. Each ratings category also contained a description of the kind of content that might appear in programs with a particular rating. The ratings categories were separated into two groups: ratings for programming designed for children and ratings for programming designed for general audiences. The two children’s ratings were created based on input from children’s advocates who raised concerns about the special needs of young children. The children’s ratings were: TV-Y for programming designed for all children, and TV-Y7 for programming directed at children 7 or older. The “general audience” categories were as follows: TV-G (general audience – appropriate for all ages), TV-PG (parental guidance suggested – may be unsuitable for younger children), TV-14 (parents strongly cautioned – may be unsuitable for children under 14 years of age), and TV-M (for mature audiences only, may be unsuitable for children under 17).
The industry also created a Monitoring Board, comprised of TV industry experts, to ensure accuracy, uniformity and consistency of the guidelines and to consider any public questions about the guideline applied to a particular program.
In response to calls to provide additional content information in the ratings system,[4] on August 1, 1997, the television industry, in conjunction with representatives of children’s and medical advocacy groups, announced a revised rating system. Under this revised system, television programming would continue to fall into one of the six ratings categories (TV-Y, TV-Y7, TV-G, TV-PG, TV-14, TV-MA), but content descriptors of D (suggestive dialogue), L (language), S (sex), V (violence) and FV (fantasy violence – exclusively for the TV-Y7 category) would be added to the ratings where appropriate.
Further, the proposal stated that the icons and associated content symbols would appear for 15 seconds at the beginning of all rated programming, and that the size of the icons would be increased. The revised guidelines were supported by leading family and child advocacy groups, as well as television broadcasters, cable systems and networks, and television production companies. Finally, the revised proposal called for five representatives of the advocacy community to be added to the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board. On March 12, 1998, the Federal Communications Commission found that the Industry Video Programming Rating System was acceptable, and adopted technical requirements for the V-Chip.
Used sub-ratings
The ratings are sometimes accompanied by sub-ratings, depending on the amount of objectionable content in the program.
| Rating | Violence (V) | Language (L) | Sexual content (S) | Suggestive dialogue (D) | Fantasy violence (FV) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TV-Y |  (unused) |
(unused) |
(unused) |
(unused) |
(unused)
|
| TV-Y7 |  (once used) |
(unused) |
(unused) |
(unused) |
(exclusive use)
|
| TV-G | (unused) |
(unused) |
(unused) |
(unused) |
(unused)
|
| TV-PG | (used) |
(used) |
(used) |
(used) |
(unused)
|
| TV-14 | (used) |
(used) |
(used) |
(used) |
(unused)
|
| TV-MA | (used) |
(used) |
(used) |
(unofficial, used by some networks) |
(unused)
|
For the first 15 seconds of every rated program lasting a half-hour or less, a large rating icon appears in the upper-left hand corner of the screen, it was much smaller until June 2005. For every rated program running an hour or longer, a rating appears in the upper-left hand corner of the TV screen at the beginning of each half hour.
Starting in June 2005, many networks now display the ratings after every commercial break. ABC was one of the first television networks to display the program's rating after every commercial break in addition to at the beginning of the program.
Design variations
Originally, the Franklin Gothic font was used for the TV rating icons, but upon the October 1998 revision of the system to redub the "TV-M" rating as "TV-MA" and the addition of the content descriptors, Helvetica became used as the default typeface for the TV rating icons. Regularly, the Helvetica font is used for rating icons with either white type on black blackground, or black type on white background, like the icons from top section. Unless a network has a separate high definition simulcast, generally all ratings icons appear in the 4:3 safe area of all television sets.
- ABC's ratings icons do not use the regular Helvetica font, instead going with Calibri—previously BankGothic Modern, usually for promos, and Franklin Gothic usually for programs—with black type on a white background, and are larger than the voluntary specifications.
- CBS and The CW only show the icon at the start of the program, and use the original smaller icons with the Helvetica typeface, with white type on a black background.
- Fox networks ratings icons are colored blue with white type, use a clockwise transition animation, and are larger than the voluntary specifications, appearing at the start of any live action program and, as of April 9, 2007, after every commercial break (the complete 15 seconds of the icon is shown as close to the half-hour as possible during an at least hour-long program; five seconds of the icon, without the clockwise transition, is shown after every other commercial break). Black and white icons are retained for animated programs on the network and were also utilized by the former 4Kids TV weekend children's block (which as the block was a time-buy by 4Kids, was rated by that company instead of Fox, although Fox standards and practices still applied input into 4Kids programming). The clockwise animation is in use with these as well, with 15 seconds of rating at the top of the 1st and 3rd segments, and (as of March 24, 2007) five seconds of rating at the top of the 2nd and 4th segments. In the late 1990s, when the ratings system was first introduced, 4Kids TV predecessor Fox Kids aired brief notices before a particular show containing the rating and informing the viewer that it's there "so you can have Fox Kids family fun!". However, Fox's related cable networks, FX, Fox Reality, Fox Movie Channel and National Geographic Channel, do not use the clockwise blue ratings, instead opting to use a ratings icon with white text on black, which at the start of a show will take up 1/12 of the screen, as per specifications used by the cable industry. After each commercial break it is shown at the original smaller size (excluding Fox Movie Channel, which does not show commercials). During ABC Family's stint as Fox Family, the black icons were used. Fox, which has traditionally aired a viewer discretion is advised disclaimer before several of their programs since the mid-1990s with the same text on a black screen (usually voiced by longtime Fox network announcer Joe Cipriano), began to air an extended disclaimer since fall 2008; the discretion line is still voiced out, but a full-screen graphic featuring a program's logo and imagery is shown featuring the ratings and a visual description of the sub-ratings that apply to the program. This is equivalent to the screens seen on pay cable programs before a program starts.
- NBC's ratings icons are translucent, and appear on the screen after a colorful transition, matching the network's current image branding, except for the promos which they make the rating icons opaque and no effect is used. NBC, Telemundo, and their related cable networks (except USA Network and Syfy, which were acquired by the network in the 2004 NBC Universal merger) did not use the D-L-S-V subratings until 2005.[5][6]
- PBS' ratings icons vary by each program's producers, though usually the regular icons are used, with black Helvetica type on a white background and space left for subratings, but sometimes the rating icons from American Public Television might be used, which the font is not Helvetica. PBS and the network's digital cable networks/digital broadcast subchannels also opted out of the D-L-S-V subratings until 2005.
- Syndicated programming often will show ratings icons drastically different from the original icons, in a different font (such as Tahoma), with a translucent or no background, letters with drop shadowing, or which match up with the title card or closing credits font for the program. This owes to the fact that the individual programs' production companies, not the broadcasting stations, apply the ratings. One syndicated game show, Jeopardy!, shows its rating after the introduction of the contestants, instead of at the very start of the program, likely for aesthetic purposes. Some TV broadcasters may put their own rating blanket over the production company's. This may happen to shows like Fraiser and Family Guy.
- Premium cable and pay-per-view channels present the ratings in a separate segment before the immediate start of a program, though TV ratings are only used for made-for-cable films produced by the channel, original series and specials, and some films which were not previously given an MPAA rating (e.g., a direct-to-video or -DVD release); however, most theatrically released films and some direct-to-video or -DVD releases are rated by their original MPAA rating. HBO, Cinemax, Starz, Encore and Epix do not use the standard rating icon design, preferring to display the rating written out with a hyphen appearing after "TV" and before the specific type of rating. The Showtime Networks (Showtime, The Movie Channel and Flix) do use the standard Helvetica design with their ratings bumpers; although all premium channels use the normal content descriptors used with the TV rating system, they also use separate content descriptors that more precisely explain the type of content included in a film, special or TV series, usually on a separate card of the bumper (except for Epix, which displays these more specific descriptors along with the program rating).
- Turner Classic Movies, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, uses the television ratings system to rate films not covered by the MPAA film ratings system, which went into effect for films released after October 1968. As the network or the film's distributor rates the film on the TV ratings system instead of the MPAA's, some conflicts occur between the two ratings systems, such as a film that might rate an MPAA G earning a TV-PG or TV-14, and some cases of an MPAA PG movie earning a TV-14 or TV-MA rating on TCM. This was a result in the changes of the level of content in the rating system. Most G-rated movies back in the late 1960s and early 1970s have content equivalent to PG and PG-13 today.[clarification needed] Some movies rated PG in the 1970s would earn a rating of at least PG-13, or possibly R, under current rating standards.[7] Some MPAA rated films may also have a separate TV rating from TCM to clarify content further within the D-L-S-V subratings. TV ratings on TCM are presented before the program, in a separate segment, in a similar manner used by most premium movie channels.
- The remainder of the Turner Broadcasting System networks air the ratings icons after each commercial break, with a larger version of the icon at the top of the program (sometimes to conceal a rating previously applied by a different network). The rating icons are black lettering on a translucent white background. Lifetime, which is partially owned by Disney, previously did this.
- Disney Channel, Disney XD and SoapNet, all owned by Disney-ABC Television Group, also air the ratings icons after each commercial break, with a larger version of the icon at the top of the program. Their rating icons are white lettering (set in Tahoma) on a solid multi-shaded gray background. A similar icon, which was much smaller with the text set in Futura, was used until 2005 (SoapNet used a version with a black square, instead of gray). ABC Family (also owned by Disney-ABC Television Group) also used that icon design until October 6, 2010, when the channel began using customized ratings icons, with a transparent logotype based on the ABC network's logotype on a white rounded square background.
- Viacom's ratings depend on the networks; since July 8, 2009, Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite use a large TV-shaped icon with transparent Gotham Black lettering on translucent white background with a "turn-off" effect when the rating stops displaying; TV Land also uses a small TV-shaped rating, but black in color and in Eurostile type. The SD feed of Spike uses a white translucent version of the old rating scheme, while the HD feeds of Spike, MTV and both SD/HD feeds of Comedy Central use their own type of translucent rating with a thin Franklin Gothic type. Nicktoons uses a white square icon with a transparent Gill Sans Bold typeface. VH1, MTV2, VH1 Classic, Nick Jr., and Logo use the rating design initially used on all Viacom channels starting in 2005, which is a variant of the rating system's initial Franklin Gothic default type at the beginning of the show that covers 1/12 of the screen and the smaller default Helvetica ratings after each commercial break. The SD feed of the original MTV network and Tr3́s which use a dark translucent version of the original rating design.
- BBC America uses a black rating with white lettering. Instead of the standard "TV" on top and rating on the bottom, BBC America separates the "TV" and rating with a hyphen.
See also
- Television content rating systems
- Pay television content descriptors
- Motion Picture Association of America film rating system
- E/I
- Canadian TV rating systems
External links
References
- ^ a b http://www.fcc.gov/vchip/
- ^ Aversa, Jeannine (March 13, 1997). "Trademark Problem: TV-M To Become TV-MA". The Seattle Times.
- ^ TV Networks Ring in the Ratings to Start the New Year, Albany Times Union (via HighBeam Research), January 2, 1997.
- ^ Parents Do Not Find New Television Ratings System Helpful, Study Says, Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News (via HighBeam Research), September 25, 1998.
- ^ http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP
- ^ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec97/ratings_7-10a.html
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20041012115514/http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/08/24/film.pg13.at20.ap/