FCC approves revised rules for digital kids TV

"Today's order protects children from excessive and inappropriate commercial messages in broadcast and cable programming, without unduly impairing the scheduling flexibility of broadcasters and cable operators," the FCC's Media Bureau announced on September 26 at the agency's regularly scheduled Open Commission meeting. All five Commissioners approved the changes.

The decision affects guidelines that the FCC established in 2004, extending the Children's Television Act (CTA) of 1990 to TV stations that choose to begin "multicasting"—splitting their digital signal into two or more separate channels. CTA requires broadcasters to provide three hours a week of "core educational programming" for children. The law also sets limits on how much commercial matter these shows can display: no more than 12 minutes per hour on weekdays and 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends.

The FCC says that digital broadcasters must offer those three hours on their main programming stream. If they multicast, their core programming minimum must increase "in proportion to the amount of free video programming offered by the broadcaster on multicast channels." The shows may not display links to Web sites unless the site offers "a substantial amount of bona fide program-related or other noncommercial content" and is "not primarily intended for commercial purposes."

The Commission's new revisions came recommended after long negotiations by a consortium of children's advocacy groups and media companies, including Children Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Parent Teacher Association, Turner Broadcasting, Time Warner, and Viacom. The group called for about eight modifications now accepted by the FCC, among them that the Web site rule applies "only when Internet addresses are displayed during program material."

In addition, a program related character can appear on the displayed Web site only in sections that are "are sufficiently separated from the program itself to mitigate the impact of host selling."

Although all five FCC commissioners approved of the CTA alterations, Jonathan Adelstein, a Democrat, expressed concern with some of the revised language, calling several rule changes "not models of regulatory clarity and certainty." At the Open Meeting, Adelstein asked why the guidelines exempt from host selling restrictions Web pages that are "primarily devoted to multiple characters from multiple programs." He also criticized the new regulations for not clearly classifying promotions for upcoming programs as commercial matter.

"Nevertheless," Adelstein concluded, "today’s order remains a very positive step overall."

The FCC's decision received stronger praise from former FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani, now with the Benton Foundation. Tristani had been involved in the negotiations that led to these revised rules. "This deal demonstrates what can be accomplished when the Commission, the media industry and children’s advocates come together to craft a workable definition of 'in the public interest' for children," Tristani said.

More stories:

• September 22, 2006, Children's TV agreement on FCC meeting agenda
• July 22, 2006, FCC's Tate links TV advertising to childhood obesity
• August 25, 2006, The future of digital children's television. An interview with Gloria Tristani