In response to concerns about the over-commercization of children's television, the 101st Congress (second session) passed HR-1677, The Children's Television Act of 1990. The CTA would require the FCC to develop additional standards for children's television. These regulations would apply to both broadcast (over the air) TV as well as cable and satellite TV for programming designed for children 12 and younger.
Congress has put controls on the amount of commercials that are aired during children's television periods. They set a standard of no more than 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and no more than 12 minutes per hour on weekdays. While Congress has given the FCC the authority to adjust those time guidelines based on the public interest, so far, the FCC has sustained those limits.
In Section 103, Congress has required the FCC to review a broadcast licensee's compliance with the commercial standards laid out in Section 102 and also whether the station has met the "educational and informational needs of children", also known as "core programming". Congress left it to the FCC to develop these standards.
After public debate through the rulemaking process, the FCC released a Report and Order in MM Docket 93-48 (R&O) with the rulemaking that would implement the CTA.
Section 73.671 of the FCC Rules addresses Educational and Informative (E/I) programming. 73.671(c) defines E/I programming as:
- It serves the educational and informational needs of children ages 16 and under
- Aired between 7AM and 10PM
- A regularly scheduled weekly program
- At least 30 minutes in length
E/I programs must be identified on the air with the symbol E/I appearing on the screen during the entire program and broadcasters must inform the publishers of television guides which of their programming is considered E/I.
Television broadcasters must air at least 3 hours of "core" E/I programming each week. Additional regulations require broadcasters to inform viewers if an E/I program has to be pre-empted to another time slot because of sports or a special event.
Once per quarter, broadcasters are required to file a Children's Television Report with the FCC. In this report, broadcasters are required to specify which shows they aired as their core programming and explain why such a show is educational and informative. The licensee must also certify that their station is compliant with the CTA. These reports are available for public viewing at the FCC and is placed in the TV station's public file which can be viewed at the station's offices during normal business hours.
Finally, Section 104 of the CTA requires the FCC to finish up proceedings that would reinforce the FCC's 1974 ban on "host-selling" and other questionable methods (such as "interactive toys" that respond to the airing of the television program).
A "Program length commercial" is a commercial that features characters (whether human or animated) that are being featured in the program being aired during that time. The intention of "program length commercial" rules assures that a child's trust in a character is not violated and it helps younger children be able to discern between programming and commercial matter.
The Zevo-3 Case
The FCC is currently investigating a case involving a show on the Nicktoons cable network called Zevo-3 which critics, such as Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood claim is a program length commercial for Sketchers shoes. Other consumer and media justice groups agree with CCFC's contentions about Zevo-3. In comments to the FCC, media justice organization FreePress stated:
It is patently unreasonable to expect children to distinguish between these character’s roles as advertising icons and their roles in Zevo-3. These characters areinextricably associated to the specific products they were designed to promote, andindeed these characters are themselves advertisements for the Skechers product line theyrepresent. As such, the use of these commercial symbols in a children’s programming constitutes de facto embedded advertising, which the Commission has determined would “run afoul of [its] separation policy because there would be no bumper between programming content and advertising.”
As of the end of 2011, the FCC has not taken action on this case.
NEXT.. The more significant issue with children and television.
