|
Background
Recent data indicates that, on average,
children in the United States spend approximately three hours a
day watching television. This invited “guest” into our homes has
the potential to significantly shape our children’s development.
In view of this, Congress determined that broadcast television
stations – both commercial and non-commercial – have an
obligation to offer educational and informational children’s
programming. In addition, television licensees, cable operators,
and satellite providers must limit the amount of commercials
aired during children’s programs.
|
In 1990, Congress enacted the
Children’s Television Act (CTA) to increase the amount
of educational and informational programming for
children available on television. CTA requires each
broadcast television station in the United States to
serve the educational and informational needs of
children through its overall programming, including
programming specifically designed to serve these needs
(“core programming”). It also limits the amount of time
broadcasters and cable operators may devote to
advertisements during children’s programs.
The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) has adopted rules to carry out this
mandate. Under the FCC’s rules, television stations
must:
-
provide parents and consumers
with advance information about core programs being
aired;
-
define the type of programs
that qualify as core programs; and
-
air at least three hours per
week of core programs.
|
Core Programming
“Core programming” is programming
specifically designed to serve the educational and informational
needs of children ages 16 and under. Core programming must be:
-
at least 30 minutes in length;
-
aired between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and
10:00 p.m.; and
-
a regularly scheduled weekly program.
Getting Information About Children's
Programming
A central goal of the FCC’s rules is to
provide parents and other members of the public with more
information about educational television programming. This
information helps parents guide their children’s television
viewing and also encourages an ongoing dialogue between the
public and TV stations about TV station performance under CTA.
To help accomplish this, the FCC’s rules
require commercial television stations to identify a core
educational program by displaying throughout the program the
“E/I” icon denoting that the program is “educational and/or
informational.” Commercial television stations must also provide
information identifying these programs to publishers of program
guides and TV listings.
The rules also require commercial TV
stations to complete and file with the FCC quarterly reports
regarding their educational programming and to make these
reports available to the public. Broadcast stations must file
with the FCC and place in their public inspection files a
quarterly Children’s Television Programming Report (FCC Form
398) identifying their core programming and other efforts to
comply with their educational programming obligations.
Commercial Time Limitations
The FCC’s rules limit the amount of
commercial matter which may be aired in certain children’s
television programming to 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and
12 minutes per hour on weekdays. These requirements apply to
television broadcasters, cable operators, and satellite
providers. These limitations are prorated for programs that are
shorter than one hour in duration. The programming at issue for
the commercial time limits is programming originally produced
and aired primarily for an audience of children 12 years old and
younger.
Commercial television broadcasters are
required to place in their local public inspection files
certifications that they have complied with the commercial time
limits. Alternatively, they must identify any overages. At the
time the station files an application to renew its FCC license,
it must certify that no commercial overages occurred during the
license term. Alternatively, it must explain any overages.
The commercial time limits do not apply to
non-commercial educational television stations because these
stations are generally prohibited from airing commercials. Cable
operators and satellite providers must also maintain records to
verify compliance and make these records available for public
inspection.
Commercial material includes more than
advertisements. For instance, where a commercial announcement is
primarily for a product otherwise unrelated to a program, but
that announcement also includes references to or offers of
products that are related to the program, then the broadcast of
that commercial announcement during or adjacent to the program
will make that program a program-length commercial. In such a
case, the entire duration of the program-length commercial will
be counted as commercial material. To avoid being considered a
program-length commercial, commercial material related to a
children’s program must be separated from that program by
intervening and unrelated program material.
Additional Children's Programming
Obligations
Since adopting its initial children’s
programming rules, the FCC has established children’s
educational and informational programming obligations for
digital multicast broadcasters and placed restrictions on the
increasing commercialization of children’s programming on both
analog and digital broadcast and cable television systems. For
digital broadcasters, effective January 1, 2007, at least three
hours per week of core programming must be provided on the main
programming stream. For digital broadcasters that multicast, the
minimum amount of core programming will increase in proportion
to the amount of free video programming offered by the
broadcaster on multicast channels.
In addition, the FCC’s limit on the amount
of commercial matter (10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and 12
minutes per hour on weekdays) applies to all digital video
programming, free or pay, directed to children 12 years old and
under.
Finally, the display of Internet Web site
addresses during programs directed to children ages 12 and under
is permitted only if the Web site meets the following criteria:
-
it offers a substantial amount of bona
fide program-related or other noncommercial content;
-
it is not primarily intended for
commercial purposes, including either e-commerce or
advertising;
-
the Web site’s home page and other menu
pages are clearly labeled to distinguish the noncommercial
from the commercial sections; and
-
the page of the Web site to which
viewers are directed is not used for e-commerce,
advertising, or other commercial purposes (for example,
contains no links labeled “store” and no links to another
page with commercial material).
Television broadcasters and cable operators
may not display Web site addresses during or adjacent to a
children’s program if, on Web site pages with noncommercial
content regarding that program or a program character, products
are sold featuring a character in the program, or a program
character is used to sell products.
These Web site requirements apply to both
analog and digital programming.
The display prohibition applies only when
Web site addresses are displayed during program or promotional
material not counted as commercial time. It does not apply to
certain public service announcements, station identifications,
and emergency announcements.
What is "Host Selling?"
“Host selling” is any character endorsement
that has the effect of confusing a child viewer from
distinguishing between program and non-program material. The
FCC’s rules permit the sale of merchandise featuring a
program-related character in parts of a related Web site that
are sufficiently separated from the program to mitigate the
impact of host selling.
For more information on children’s
educational television, please visit the FCC’s Media Bureau Web
site at
www.fcc.gov/mb/policy/cetv.html.
Filing a Complaint with the FCC
If you believe that any of these rules have
been violated, you can file a complaint with the FCC. There is
no charge for filing a complaint. You can file your complaint
using our on-line complaint Form 2000E found on the FCC’s Web
site at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html. You can also file your
complaint with the FCC’s Consumer Center by e-mailing
fccinfo@fcc.gov; calling
1-888-CALL-FCC -888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC
(1-888-835-5322) TTY; faxing 1-866-418-0232; or writing to:
Federal Communications
Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554.
What to Include in Your Complaint
The best way to provide all the information
the FCC needs to process your complaint is to complete fully the
on-line complaint Form 2000E. If you do not use the on-line
complaint Form 2000E, your complaint, at a minimum, should
indicate:
-
your name, address, email address, and
phone number where you can be reached;
-
name and phone number of the company
that you are complaining about and location (city and state)
if the company is a cable or satellite operator;
-
station call sign (KDIU-FM or WZUE TV),
radio station frequency (1020 or 88.5) or TV channel (13),
and station location (city and state);
-
network, program name, and date and
time of program if you are complaining about a particular
program; and
-
any additional details of your
complaint, including time, date, and nature of the conduct
or activity you are complaining about and identifying
information for any companies, organizations, or individuals
involved.
|
For More Information
For information about
other telecommunications issues, visit the FCC’s
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau Web site at
www.fcc.gov/cgb, or contact the
FCC’s Consumer Center using the information provided for
filing a complaint. |
| 
Federal Communications Commission
