TV Ratings System May Group By Type Of Program
Entertainment executives attempting to develop a ratings system for TV shows are pushing for a method to rate many programs by group.
“We hope that certain kinds of programming can be generically rated,” Motion Picture Association of America chief Jack Valenti said.
Valenti explained that situation comedies, soap operas and talk shows could all easily be rated, as they are all similar.
“Most people who watch prime-time programming know what it is,” he said. “Most people who watch the soaps know what they are.”
In a later conversation, Valenti refined his point.
“We were talking about developing a rating for a show like ‘Home Improvement,’ ” he said. “Because everybody knows what a show like that is, you would keep the rating on the entire series.
“If some new material were introduced in the series, then the rating could change for that episode.”
Under a provision of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the TV industry is given a year to rate its programs. If it doesn’t, an FCC-appointed board will do it instead.
Ratings are critical to another codicil of the law - that new TV sets be equipped with the V-chip, a device that allows viewers to block programs from appearing on their TV screen. Without the ratings system, the V-chip is useless. While the TV ratings system is loosely based on the MPAA movie ratings system, Valenti said the similarity stops there.
“I do not want to duplicate the MPAA ratings system,” said Valenti, adding that he feared that if it were grafted onto TV shows, it would lead to a “slow erosion” of the system he developed in the 1960s.
The MPAA ratings system would still be useful for TV viewers who have premium channels or order pay-per-view services because those movies might not carry the TV system rating.
“We’re going to rate everything on TV,” Valenti said. “But I’m trying to separate out unedited movies on premium channels.”
Sports and most news programming would also avoid the ratings. Some news programming might be rated, as the panel has not yet figured out where reality shows and other such programming will fall. Professional wresting and the gladiator-type shows also might not be considered as sports programming and get a rating, he said.