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How to Obtain TV Ratings Information

In the mid-1990 broadcasters developed TV Parental Guidelines, designed to be used to evaluate television content's appropriateness for young audiences. Ratings help parents determine if programs contain adult themes and content, and also whether or not a particular show might be too frightening for children. Like the motion picture industry's rating system that governs which films children may view, the TV rating system classifies programs in a system with seven different categories, ranging from those that are appropriate for all audiences to shows that are recommended for mature audiences only.

Things You'll Need

  • Local newspaper with TV listings
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Instructions

    • 1

      Contact the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board, which is comprised of television industry experts and community advocates, which reviews programs before broadcast and rates the content using the seven category rating system devised by the television broadcasters. You can get more information on the rating system, and ask questions about the system or broadcast content by writing to the Monitoring Board.

    • 2

      Check your local newspaper television listings, many of which publish not only the time and subject of local programming, but also the rating that each program has received. In addition, check the top of your TV screen at the beginning of each broadcast and note the rating that the program has received. The rating label is usually displayed at the start of each show, and each time the program returns from a commercial break.

    • 3

      Contact the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board to get more information on how V-Chip technology can be better used to ensure that younger viewers are seeing only programming that you approve of. They will provide more information on how you can use the V-Chip to filter programming content.

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