216:
would continue to fall into one of the six ratings categories (TV-Y, TV-Y7, TV-G, TV-PG, TV-14 or TV-MA), but content descriptors would be added to the ratings where appropriate, based on the type(s) of objectionable content included in the individual program or episode: D (suggestive dialogue), L (coarse language), S (sexual content), V (violence) and FV (fantasy violence – a descriptor exclusively for use in the TV-Y7 category).
614:
520:
415:
467:" (separately used as a specific identifier for children's programs) as an informal content descriptor for select TV-Y, TV-Y7, and TV-G programs that are designed to meet the educational and informative needs of children. A minimum of three hours of E/I-compliant programming must be broadcast per week by each television network, with exemptions and looser regulations applying to
284:
199:(MPAA), joined 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 large amount of programming that must be reviewed – some 2,000 hours a day. The guidelines would be applied episodically to all programming based on their content, except for news, sports and advertising.
460:
the age, the content matters generally get more intensive. These descriptors allow for 44 possible combinations for all the ratings total. The "suggestive dialogue" descriptor is used for TV-PG and TV-14 rated programs only, but rarely TV-MA. The violence descriptor was used for TV-Y7 programs from August 1997 until the creation of the 'FV' descriptor later that year.
376:
356:
333:
277:
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255:
506:, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix (the latter basing ratings and content information for original and some licensed series on the program's overall maturity level, rather than on an episode-to-episode basis) may provide more concise detail of the thematic material in a particular title alongside the title’s rating.
219:
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
211:
in 1968. 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. The industry also created a
Monitoring Board, composed of TV industry experts, to ensure accuracy, uniformity and consistency of the
585:
or, for some streaming services like
Netflix, Max and Disney+, merely denotes the rating and details of mature material in a program in a straight line of text. The icon was much smaller until June 2005 and only appeared on-screen for 7.5 seconds. For every rated program running an hour or longer, a
459:
Up to four content descriptors can be applied alongside an assigned rating, depending on the kind of suggestive content featured in a program; the FV descriptor is an exception due to its sole use for the TV-Y7 rating, which can have no descriptor other than FV. As the rating increases pertaining to
215:
In response to calls to provide additional content information in the ratings system, on August 1, 1997, the television industry, in conjunction with representatives of children's and medical advocacy groups, announced revisions to the rating system. Under this revised system, television programming
366:
Programs contain material that parents or adult guardians may find unsuitable for children under the age of 14. The FCC warns that "parents are cautioned to exercise some care in monitoring this program and are cautioned against letting children under the age of 14 watch unattended". Programs with
690:
Viewer discretion advisories are mostly used for programs rated TV-MA or series where most episodes are TV-14-rated with lighter content. They are also commonly used for television broadcasts of theatrical films; this, however, depends highly on the content and rating (alternatively, said content
494:
typically restricts on-screen ratings and content descriptors to its original programming and licensed films. On-screen ratings for original and licensed television series are featured on premium channel add-ons sold through Hulu to its VOD-only and VOD/live TV subscribers, though not on series
237:
said that one of the forms of pressure to have less overt depiction of LGBTQ+ characters or culture was the TV Parental
Guidelines system, resulting in domestic and international content being cut out of episodes. One of the criticisms was that the rarely updated guidelines offer no guidance on
323:
Programs are generally suitable for all audiences, though they may not necessarily contain content of interest to children. The FCC states that "this rating does not signify a program designed specifically for children, most parents may let younger children watch this program unattended". The
202:
The same year on
December 19, 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
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Some programs may voluntarily display a disclaimer regarding the show's objectionable content with the TV rating prior to the program starting, along with audibly repeating the same, with the reason for the rating (e.g. suggestive dialogue, drug and alcohol abuse, language, sexual situations,
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Designed for children age 7 and older. The FCC states that it "may be more appropriate for children who have acquired the developmental skills needed to distinguish between make-believe and reality". The thematic elements portrayed in programs with this rating contain mild fantasy and comedic
179:
called upon the entertainment industry to establish, within one year, a voluntary television rating system 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
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rating appears in the upper-left hand corner of the television screen at the beginning of each half-hour. Starting in June 2005, many networks now display the ratings after every commercial break, in addition to the beginning of the program. Ratings icons formerly appeared in the
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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; previously this had a common design using a universal icon, but now often goes with a network's branding and
220:
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
56:
in response to public concerns about increasing amounts of mature content in television programs. It was established as a voluntary-participation system, with ratings to be determined by the individual participating broadcast and cable networks.
265:
Designed to be appropriate for children of all ages. The thematic elements portrayed in programs with this rating are specifically designed for a very young audience, including children from ages 2 to 6.
398:. This rating is rarely used by broadcast networks or local television stations due to FCC restrictions on program content, although it is commonly applied to television programs featured on certain
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Some thematic elements, according to the FCC, "may call for parental guidance and/or the program may contain one or more of the following" sub-ratings, designated with an alphabetic letter:
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478:(except for some subscription add-ons sold through its Apple TV Channels marketplace) applies the system's descriptors to theatrically released films rated under the
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guidelines and to consider any public questions about the guideline applied to a particular program. The TV Parental
Guidelines went into use on January 1, 1997.
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784:"Letter to William F. Caton of the FCC from the television industry establishing a voluntary system of parental guidelines for rating television programming"
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prior to the announced revisions to the rating system in August 1997 but was changed due to a trademark dispute and in order to remove confusion with the
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Programs given the "FV" content descriptor exhibit more 'fantasy violence' and are generally more intense or combative than other programs rated TV-Y7.
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thematic elements portrayed in programs with this rating contain little or no violence, mild language, and little or no sexual dialogue or situations.
783:
99:
that block by channel, program, or content, but the guidelines themselves have no legal force, and are not used on sports or news programs or during
946:"Notice of proposed rulemaking on technical requirements to enable blocking of programs based on program ratings (FCC 97–340, ET Docket No. 97-206)"
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The direct description of each rating from the TV Parental
Guidelines Monitoring Board is listed above the extended ratings description in italics.
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347:. Programs assigned a TV-PG rating may include infrequent coarse language, some sexual content, some suggestive dialogue, or moderate violence.
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683:) insert special caution boards for horror programs at the end of commercial breaks, almost always occurring before a series uses the word "
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violence, nudity) and strongly cautioning parents to decide whether the program is suitable for their children. Several channels (including
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982:"Implementation of Section 551 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 Video Programming Ratings (FCC 98-35, CS Docket No. 97-55)"
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91:, which was mandated to be built into all television sets manufactured since 2000 (and the vast majority of cable/satellite
1035:"TV animators were forced to scrap LGBTQ-inclusive storylines due to a culture of fear. Experts say fans are changing that"
1008:"Technical Requirements to Enable Blocking of Video Programming based on Program Ratings (FCC 98-36, ET Docket No. 97-206)"
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found that the
Industry Video Programming Rating System was acceptable, and adopted technical requirements for the V-chip.
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also assign ratings from the TV Parental
Guidelines on broadcasts of some films that have been released theatrically or on
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this rating contain intensely suggestive dialogue, strong coarse language, intense sexual situations or intense violence.
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programs. Programs with this rating may include crude indecent language, explicit sexual activity and graphic violence.
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This program is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17.
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This program contains material that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age.
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While the descriptors were specifically developed for the
Parental Guidelines system,
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used by premium cable services, including those sold through the Apple TV platform);
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This program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children.
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Unofficially, broadcast television networks and syndicators have sparingly applied "
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An example of a rating, which is TV-14 with all content descriptors (D, L, S, and V)
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LGBTQ+ representation and the ratings are only changed "in the face of complaints".
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In all there are 44 combinations of symbols for the TV Parental Guideline system.
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Contains content that may be unsuitable for children. This rating was originally
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Rather than use the default content descriptors, other streaming services like
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On February 29, 1996, all segments of the entertainment industry, led by the
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also use the guidelines system, along with digital video vendors such as the
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and edited broadcast or basic cable versions of theatrically released films.
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402:(basic and premium networks) and streaming networks for both mainstream and
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presentation, but have since gravitated to the corner of the 16:9 picture.
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in the United States that was first proposed on December 19, 1996, by the
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48:(FCC). The guidelines went into effect by January 1, 1997, on most major
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854:"Parents Do Not Find New Television Ratings System Helpful, Study Says"
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Programs may contain some material that parents or guardians may find
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Programs where fantasy violence may be more intense or more combative.
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429:– Sexual or suggestive dialogue (not used with the TV-MA rating)
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471:; all E/I programs must air between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
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The ratings are generally applied to most television series,
1187:. June 10, 2013. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013
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This program is designed to be appropriate for all children.
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922:. Publication from the television industry. Archived from
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Most parents will find this program suitable for all ages.
920:"Revised Industry Proposal for Rating Video Programming"
1233:(Lakeland ed.). Lakeland, Florida. pp. A1, A4
819:"TV Networks Ring in the Ratings to Start the New Year"
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This program is designed for children age 7 and above.
495:
licensed from its network and distribution partners.
706:
United States pay television content advisory system
862:. Knight Ridder. September 25, 1998. Archived from
193:
National Cable & Telecommunications Association
453:– Fantasy violence (exclusive to the TV-Y7 rating)
227:In June 2021, creators, writers, and directors of
1253:"Maturity ratings and classifications on Netflix"
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772:
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1208:: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
87:The ratings were designed to be used with the
1319:Television organizations in the United States
711:Motion Picture Association film rating system
8:
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44:, the American television industry, and the
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642:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
548:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
103:. Many online television services, such as
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27:United States television age-based ratings
1225:"Impasse Snags Proposed TV Rating System"
1161:"Trademark Problem: TV-M To Become TV-MA"
662:Learn how and when to remove this message
568:Learn how and when to remove this message
1324:1997 establishments in the United States
1088:"V-chip: Viewing Television Responsibly"
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80:for the film or if the channel airs an
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962:from the original on October 20, 2011
209:Motion Picture Association of America
197:Motion Picture Association of America
74:Motion Picture Association of America
7:
640:adding citations to reliable sources
546:adding citations to reliable sources
394:'s (ESRB) "M for Mature" rating for
189:National Association of Broadcasters
1159:Aversa, Jeannine (March 13, 1997).
392:Entertainment Software Rating Board
1314:Television content ratings systems
1304:Entertainment rating organizations
1141:. January 22, 2010. Archived from
1047:from the original on June 16, 2021
782:; et al. (January 17, 1997).
736:"Cable agrees to monitor violence"
734:Katz, Richard (January 17, 1994).
345:inappropriate for younger children
25:
1329:Organizations established in 1997
1223:Mifflin, Lawrie (June 25, 1997).
1139:Federal Communications Commission
1096:Federal Communications Commission
1012:Federal Communications Commission
986:Federal Communications Commission
953:Federal Communications Commission
897:Federal Communications Commission
827:. January 2, 1997. Archived from
701:Television content rating systems
222:Federal Communications Commission
95:). They complement more advanced
46:Federal Communications Commission
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518:
38:television content rating system
1131:"Understanding the TV Ratings"
1033:White, Abbey (June 15, 2021).
173:Telecommunications Act of 1996
1:
1309:Media content ratings systems
167:Development of the guidelines
604:Viewer discretion advisories
231:in a report for the website
1339:1997 in American television
691:might also be edited out).
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1135:The TV Parental Guidelines
918:Jack Valenti; et al.
716:Canadian TV rating systems
687:" in uncensored dialogue.
480:Motion Picture Association
435:– Coarse or crude language
101:commercial advertisements
97:parental control systems
877:(subscription required)
842:(subscription required)
763:(subscription required)
1282:TV Parental Guidelines
1098:. 2000. Archived from
955:. September 25, 1997.
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34:TV Parental Guidelines
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145:digital media players
1102:on December 15, 2013
636:improve this section
542:improve this section
205:movie ratings system
899:. September 9, 1997
866:on November 6, 2012
831:on November 6, 2012
796:on October 23, 2011
469:digital subchannels
441:– Sexual situations
410:Content descriptors
84:version of a film.
1334:1997 introductions
1290:at the FCC website
824:Albany Times Union
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117:Amazon Prime Video
1166:The Seattle Times
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856:. Business News.
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1181:"TV Ratings"
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1298:Categories
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1092:FCC V-chip
722:References
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476:Apple TV
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644:removed
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