Family-friendly programming: providing more tools for parents.

Since then-Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Newton Minow dubbed television a "vast wasteland" in 1961, the medium has changed dramatically. Consumers today have so many programs from which to choose that the complaint is rarely a lack of high-quality television shows. Rather, the concern for many consumers is how to navigate these teeming waters. This course-plotting can be a particular challenge for parents who desire to watch television together with their children. I therefore encourage the television industry to provide these parents more navigational tools.

Consumers today have exponentially more viewing options, and they can choose from a remarkable array of programs, both on broadcast and on subscription television. They can view these programs using digital technology that produces a crisp, clear color picture far surpassing the fuzzy black-and-white world of 1961. Importantly, the burgeoning competition among television networks has resulted in some of the best programming ever produced. It also has enabled such diversity that niche channels, which devote 100% of their time to science, art, or history, can be successful.

Television today, however, also presents some of the coarsest programming ever aired. Parents who want to watch television together with their children too often feel that, despite the increased number of viewing choices, they have too little to watch. Prime time on broadcast television has become less family friendly. Cable and Direct Broadcast Satellite ("DBS" or "satellite") do offer new family-oriented choices, but parents cannot subscribe to those channels alone. Rather, they must take the channels they do not want their families to view along with the Disney Channel and Discovery Channel.

I believe it is time for our culture to rethink our approach to family-friendly programming. Parents should have the tools to help their children take advantage of the good that television can offer. Certainly, broadcasters, cable, and satellite operators enjoy significant First Amendment rights to choose the content they deliver to our homes. But these companies can take it upon themselves to improve the tools they provide parents, so that parents are able to enjoy the diversity television today has to offer, yet still protect their children from content they believe inappropriate for family viewing.

I therefore propose two challenges to the industry: I urge broadcasters to create a "Family Viewing Hour" during the first hour of prime time. I also urge cable and satellite operators to offer a family-friendly programming package. Together, these steps would empower parents and enhance the value that television can offer.

MARKETPLACE DEVELOPMENTS

When Chairman Minow observed a "vast wasteland," consumers generally had three choices for television programming--ABC, NBC, and CBS--and thus these three national broadcast networks dominated the television marketplace. (1) Even with the few independent stations available in some of the larger markets, television audiences were presented with a limited amount of viewing options. Cable television, formerly known as Community Antenna Television (or CATV), was still in its infancy; by 1963, about 1 million homes subscribed to cable, (2) but the service was largely used to extend the reach of broadcast signals, not to offer different programming.

Over the last four decades, the television landscape has changed dramatically. Broadcast television options have grown considerably. Just since 1980, the number of full-power television stations has increased almost 70%. (3) With the introduction of the Fox Television network in 1986, the collection of dominant networks--once known as the "Big Three"--became referred to as the "Big Four." The path then was paved for the entrance of additional new networks. In January 1995, the fifth and sixth networks were born: Turner Broadcasting System launched the WB Network, and Paramount Television launched the United Paramount Network ("UPN"). These networks currently reach 88% and 97% of U.S. television homes, respectively. (4) More recently, Paxson Communications launched PAX TV in 1998, reaching 85% of the country. (5)

The current transition to digital television now offers viewers not only more choices, but new opportunities. Broadcasters are beginning to take advantage of the many benefits digital will bring to consumers--a markedly sharper picture resolution and better sound; an astounding choice of video programming, including niche programs and movies on demand; CD-quality music channels of all genres; interactivity; sophisticated program guides; and new, innovative services.

The most remarkable development since the 1960s, however, may be the explosion in the number of television networks, made possible by the development of multi-channel video programming distributors ("MVPDs"), including cable and satellite. (6) Today consumers can choose among more than 230 national cable networks and more than 50 regional networks--an almost unimaginable sum to a television viewer of the 1960s. (7)

In addition, the number of households accessing these multi-channel services has increased significantly since the 1960s. In 1976, there were still only 17% of U.S. households--fewer than 10 million homes--served by cable. (8) By 2002, cable reached 96% of television viewing homes, with 73 million subscribers. (9) DBS is available nationwide and now has nearly 19.8 million subscribers. (10) Today, 85.3% of households subscribe to a MVPD. (11)

Long gone are the days when broadcasters commanded 100% of the viewing audience. From July 2001 to June 2002, broadcast television averaged only a 53.0 audience share, while cable networks' share had increased to 58.3. (12) Other sources indicate the shift may be even more dramatic, with broadcast drawing only 37%, and cable programming drawing 53% of TV viewers. (13) Nevertheless, the role of television broadcasters remains a significant one. Broadcast television has lost its monopoly on the viewing audience. Meanwhile, the broadcast networks, with only a handful of channels, continue to rival the cable networks for viewers, particularly during prime time, the period during which the American television audience is at its highest. (14)

In summary, the advances in television and the development of competing providers of video programming have resulted in unprecedented choice for consumers, particularly the vast majority that subscribe to a MVPD. Moreover, some of the best television ever produced is aired today. Yet, as discussed below, the picture is not entirely rosy. For families, the situation can be somewhat of a Catch-22. If you subscribe to a MVPD, you can get a significant selection of high-quality, family-friendly programming, but you also are forced to buy some of the most family-unfriendly programming produced for television. If you take the route of allowing only broadcast television into your home, you avoid some of the programming that may concern you the most, but your primetime viewing options as a family may be few and shrinking, and you will have missed out on the great programming that cable and satellite have to offer. As I explain below, broadcasters and MVPD operators can help parents out of this situation, and I urge them to do so.

BROADCAST CHALLENGE: FAMILY VIEWING HOUR

To the dismay of many parents, the increased competition for viewership has led broadcasters to increase markedly the amount of coarse programming and decrease the family-friendly programming they provide their viewers. This shift is particularly notable during primetime viewing hours, when families are most likely to gather around the television together.

Studies have documented this unfortunate trend. A report on the 1999-2000 television season found that two out of every three shows included sexual content, an increase from about half of all shows during the 1997-1998 season. (15) The subsequent report for the 2001-2002 season revealed that the amount of sexual content on television remained high, with two-thirds of all shows continuing to include some sexual content. (16) Another organization reports that from the fall 1989 season to the fall 1999 season, the incidence of sexual material, coarse language, and violence during prime time increased three-fold. (17)

As a result, parents wanting to watch broadcast television with their children at the end of the day--when most viewers do still turn to broadcast television--may feel like they have fewer options, despite all the growth over the last decades. I do not dispute that parents could respond by turning the television off, but there should be a better answer. Accordingly, I challenge broadcasters to devote the first hour of prime time to family-friendly programs--programs that parents and children can enjoy together. (18)

The notion of a family-oriented viewing hour is not a new one. In fact, lawmakers, regulators, and members of the television industry recognized such a need almost thirty years ago. In 1974, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") received nearly 25,000 complaints about violent or sexually oriented programming. (19) That same year, responding in part to a finding by the Surgeon General about the adverse effects of televised violence on certain members of society, (20) Congress instructed the FCC to outline actions it had taken or planned to take to protect children from excessive violence and obscenity. (21) The FCC staff recommended several options, including issuing notices of inquiry, notices of proposed rulemaking, and policy statements. (22) Then-Chairman Wiley, concerned that such formal measures by the FCC could pose significant First Amendment concerns, opted instead to encourage industry representatives to take voluntary actions to regulate the amount of violent or sexually oriented content that aired during those hours when children normally watch television. (23)

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