Television rating system
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A television rating system is a method of giving television viewers an idea of the suitability of a television program for children and/or adults.
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United States ratings
The TV Parental Guidelines system was introduced on January 1, 1997 in the United States in response to public complaints of increasingly explicit sexual content, graphic violence and strong profanity in television programs. It was established by the Federal Communications Commission 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 after 2000, but the guidelines themselves have no legal force.
The system does not apply to documentary, news or sports programming, or commercials.
- TV-Y (suitable for young children)
- Whether animated or live-action, the themes and elements in this program are specifically designed for a very young audience, including children from ages 2-6. This program is not expected to frighten younger children.
Image:TV-Y7.gif Image:TV-Y7-FV.gif
- TV-Y7 (may not be suitable for children under 7)
- It may be more appropriate for children who have acquired the developmental skills needed to distinguish between make-believe and reality. Themes and elements in this program may include mild fantasy or comedic violence, or may frighten children under the age of 7. Therefore, parents may wish to consider the suitability of this program for their very young children. Note: For those programs where fantasy violence may be more intense than other programs in the same category, like the paticularly intense Justice League Unlimited for instance, such programs will be designated TV-Y7-FV. Some programs designated TV-Y7 may contain some mild curse words such as "damn" and "hell". Religious references also are an automatic qualification, if not elevated to TV-PG.
- TV-G (suitable for all audiences)
- This rating does not specifically mean the program is geared towards children, though many parents will find it suitable for children.
- TV-PG (parental guidance suggested)
- The rating may find unsuitable for younger children, but parents may want to watch it with them. The rating may be accompanied by one or more of the following subratings:
- V for moderate violence
- S for mild sexual situations
- L for mild coarse language
- D for suggestive dialogue
- Many "family" programs carry this designation.
- TV-14 (parental guidance suggested for children under 14)
- Parents are strongly urged to exercise greater care in monitoring this program and are cautioned against letting children under the age of 14 watch unattended. This rating is very broad and common so it is often accompanied by one of the following subratings:
- V for intense violence
- S for sexual situations
- L for coarse language
- D for highly suggestive dialogue
- Interestingly, most programs that air after 10:00pm are rated TV-14, including programs such as The Tonight Show. CBS and NBC daytime dramas carry this rating, while ABC serials mostly carry the PG rating, with an occasional 14.
- TV-MA (suitable for mature audiences or adults only; originally TV-M until the fall of 1998)
- This program is not intended and should not be viewed by audiences under the age of 17. The program may contain extreme graphic violence, strong profanity, overt sexual dialogue and/or explicit sexual acts. South Park frequently carries a TV-MA rating, with the syndicated version receiving a TV-14 rating. The film Schindler's List (aired by NBC in February 1997 and March 1999, as well as on PBS in July 2000) was the first network TV program to display this rating. The rating may be accompanied by one of the following subratings:
- V for highly graphic violence
- S for explicit sexual situations
- L for strong coarse language
The "D" sub-rating is not used for TV-MA.
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 TV screen. 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 2005, a rating icon is now displayed 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. CBS, and UPN only show the icon at the start of the program, and uses the original smaller icons. On Fox networks, the ratings icons are colored blue/white and larger than the voluntary specifications. This only applies to live-action programming. The black and white variant is used for animated programs. Also, NBC, PBS, and their other cable networks did not use the DSLV subratings until 2005.
Syndicated programming usually shows the ratings icon at the beginning of a program, but some do not show them only after commercial breaks, depending on the producer of the program. Syndicated programs also have smaller labels most of the time. Locally-produced programming may not show any kind of icon or indicator for a rating, and it is extremely rare for public access cable channels to have any ratings.
The ratings can be detected by a television set device known as a V-chip. V-chips are built into all television receivers manufactured since 2000. Older sets can be retrofitted with external set-top boxes. However, the V-chips have to be activated by the set's owner, and provide only a blanket blocking for programs displaying the owner-selected primary rating(s): subratings cannot usually be selected for exemption from V-chip blockage (there are some television sets which can block subratings, however).
Some famous exceptions of live programming that got past by the censors were Bono's "this is really, really fucking brilliant" on the Golden Globe Awards, Nicole Richie's "Have you ever tried to clean cow shit out of a Prada purse? It's not so fucking simple," on the Billboard Music Awards, and one of the most infamous scenes in the history of American television, Janet Jackson's exposed breast on the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.
Canadian ratings
In the wake of the American ratings system, the Canadian TV Classification System was created for English-language programmers to use in conjunction with the V-chip. This system differs somewhat from the American version: Image:Canada-C.gif
- C: programming suitable for children under the age of 8 years. No profanity or sexual content of any level allowed. Minimal comedic violence; nothing realistic.
- C8: suitable for children over the age of 8. Low intensity violence and fantasy horror allowed. No foul language but occasional "socially offensive and discriminatory" language allowed if in the context of the story. No sex or nudity.
- G: General. Similar to the Canadian/American movie rating of the same name; programming suitable for the entire family with minimal violence, and no profanity or sexual content. (Similar to U.S. rating G or (low-end) PG)
- PG: Parental Guidance. Again, similar to the movie rating of the same name. Moderate use of violence and mild profanity allowed, as is brief nudity and sexual references if important to a storyline. (Similar to U.S. rating (high-end) G, PG, or (low-end) PG-13)
[[Image:Canada-14+.gif|50px|right]]
- 14+: programming intended for viewers over the age of 14. May contain intense scenes of violence, strong profanity, and depictions of sexual activity within the context of a story. (Similar to U.S. rating (high-end) PG, PG-13, or (low-end) R). This rating was applied to a recent broadcast of the movie Animal House.)
[[Image:Canada-18+.gif|50px|right]]
- 18+: equivalent to the TV-MA rating, allowing strong violence, language, and sexual activity. This rating has been applied to occasional cable broadcasts of pornographic films. (Similar to U.S. rating R or (low-end) NC-17)
French-language broadcasters use the Quebec film ratings system. There are also exemptions to some of the programming.
An E (no rating will appear on screen) is given to most news and sports programs, documentaries, talk shows, music videos and variety programming because they are exempt programs.
Australia and New Zealand
- For details on the Video and DVD classification system in Australia, see Censorship in Australia.
Australia and New Zealand's rating systems differ only slightly from other rating systems. New Zealand's are based on Australia's previous system which was used before 1995. TV Networks are required by law to warn viewers of a rating of a Program over the M Rating before viewing the programme and required to show a list of subratings the television show specifically may contain (if any). There is also advertising restrictions on TV programs with a rating of MA15+ or Higher. These ratings are exactly the same for Subscription TV. After commercial breaks the rating and subrating abbreviation of the programme has to be shown by law.
Australia
- P Pre-Schoolers - Programmes suited specifically for pre-school children. Some shows include Sesame Street
- C Children - Programmes suited specifically for children 5 to 11 years of age.
- G General - Programmes which are suitable for all ages.
- PG Parental Guidance - Parental Guidance is recommended for young children. - Cannot be Shown between 4:00pm & 7:00pm Weekdays. Some shows include Futurama and The simpsons.
- M Mature - Recommended for Mature Audiences. - Can only be shown between 12:00pm - 3:00pm on School Days and 8:30pm - 5:00am any day. Some shows include South Park, House and Commander in Chief.
- MA 15+ Mature Audience Only - Not Suitable for Persons Under the Age of 15. Under 15s must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. - Can only be shown between 9:00pm - 5:00am. A parental warning must be shown before the program starts.
- AV 15+ Adults Only Extreme Violence - Not Suitable for Persons Under the Age of 15 - The AV 15+ signifies that the program contains significant violence. The AV 15+ rating confuses many viewers and its existence is often puzzling. AV rated material can be shown between 9:00pm and 5:00am.
Ratings from PG upwards can sometimes be accompanied with any of the specific subratings. These can be classified as "Some", "Medium" or "Strong", depending on the content of the television program. These subratings are:
- V For Violence
- L For Coarse Language (Swearing)
- S For Sexual references or Sex Scenes
- SN For Supernatural Themes
- H For Horror
- MP For Medical Procedures
- A For Suggestive (Adult) Themes
- N For Nudity
New Zealand
G: Programmes exclude material likely to harm children under 14 and can screen at any time.
PGR: Programmes are more suited to older people but aren't necessarily unsuitable for children, and can screen between 9 AM - 4 PM and 7 PM - 6 AM.
AO: Content is handled in such a way that it is unsuitable for children, and can screen between noon and 3 PM on a school day, and between 8:30 PM - 5 AM. Some programmes exceed the guidelines and have special notes like AO 9:30 PM or later when sexually related body parts and/or situations might appear.
United Kingdom
BBFC: U PG 12A 12 15 18 PEGI: 3+ 7+ 12+ 16+ 18+
- For details on the video and DVD classification system in the UK, see British Board of Film Classification.
In the United Kingdom, TV ratings are usually considered unnecessary; the television regulator, Ofcom, sets clear boundaries for what can be shown and when. The most obvious example of this is in the watershed, the time at which more explicit content can be shown. On main broadcast television, this is 9pm, however on subscriber television services it is 8pm.
However, some channels have adopted their own systems.
- The BBC and ITV give verbal announcements before programmes as to the nature of the programme about to be shown. ITV and the BBC show these comparatively rarely compared to C4.
- In addition to the above, Channel 4 occasionally has extra announcements before a programme resumes from a commercial break, if the content in a certain segment is viewed to be likely to cause offence. (i.e. if the programme crosses the watershed). Examples include the usage of the word "cunt" on Big Brother and a standard "don't try this at home" disclaimer before and during Jackass. See also red triangle
- five has its own rating system, roughly based on a mixture of the BBFC and MPAA movie classification systems, used for films only.
Ireland
In Ireland, RTÉ displays a banner in the top left-hand corner of the screen during the opening screen of a programme. The banner will display either -
- GA (General Audience) - a programme that would be acceptable to all ages and tastes.
- Ch (Children) - a programme aimed specifically at children ages 5-11.
- YA (Young Adult) - a programme aimed at a preteen or teenage audience. That is to say it would not be of great interest to an adult. However, it might deal with issues which affect the teenage audience, e.g. relationships, sexual activity, sexuality, soft drugs. Parents and guardians could expect that "YA" programmes might contain such material and may choose to limit their children's access.
- PS (Parental Supervision) - a programme aimed at a mature audience, i.e. It might deal with adult themes, be moderately violent, frightening or contain an occasional swear word.) and the classification label invites parents or guardians to consider restricting children's access.
- MA (Mature Audience Only) - a typical "post-watershed" program which might contain scenes of strong sexual activity and heavy violence, or the dialogue might be profane.
This only applies to the RTÉ channels (RTÉ One, RTÉ Two & TG4), other television channels would usually make a verbal announcement of what a show contains beforehand.
Other countries
- Several television networks in Europe have voluntarily started using similar ratings systems of their own, often using an age designation such as 12, 14, or 16.
- South African ratings usually fall into the categories Family, PG, PG-12, 16, 18 or R18 with indicators V (Violence), N (Nudity), S (Sex) and L (Language)
See also
External links
- FCC V-Chip web site
- http://www.tvguidelines.org/ratings.asp
- Media Awareness Network - Canadian TV Classification System
- V-Chip Canada