PTC Commends NBC for Affirming Commitment to the Family Hour

LOS ANGELES (April 4, 2008) – The Parents Television Council™ commended NBC for announcing its commitment to the “Family Hour,” an hour of television from 8 pm – 9 pm that families have typically counted on to be family-friendly. This announcement comes on the heels of a recent PTC study finding that children who watch television during the Family Hour are assaulted by violence, profanity or sexual content once every 3.5 minutes of non-commercial airtime.

“We thank NBC for committing to air family-friendly programming during the Family Hour. Our recent research showed that this programming block has been flooded with adult content – on every broadcast network. Families do not want to be barraged with graphic sexual content, violence or profanity and want a time during the evening that is considered safe for the whole family to watch television. Responsible television programming is good business. We are heartened that NBC appears to be listening to the calls of so many parents and families, and we hope that other broadcast networks follow NBC’s lead,” said PTC President Tim Winter.

Major Findings of the PTC’s Family Hour Study:

The full study can be found at: http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/reports/familyhour/exsummary.asp.

In 180 hours of original programming, there were 2,246 instances of objectionable violent, profane and sexual content, or 12.48 instances per television hour. Since the average hour of primetime broadcast television contains about 43 minutes of non-commercial programming, this indicates that content inappropriate for children occurs about once for every 3.5 minutes of non-commercial airtime.
Scripted television was by far the most offensive overall with 16.68 incidents of overall foul content per hour, compared to 0.31 per hour for game shows and 5.82 per hour for unscripted programs.

Foul language was found in 76.4% of episodes that aired during the study period. Whether scripted or uttered on a reality program, foul language is found on almost every series airing during the Family Hour.

Throughout the study period, 677 sexual scenes or spoken sexual references were recorded, or 3.76 per hour.

The PTC recorded 754 violent acts and images during the study period, or 4.19 per hour.

To speak with a representative from the Parents Television Council, please contact Kelly Oliver (ext. 140) or Megan Franko (ext. 148) at (703) 683-5004.

The Parents Television Council™ (www.parentstv.org®) is a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. It was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media. This national grassroots organization has over one million members across the United States, and works with television producers, broadcasters, networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and negative messages targeted to children. The PTC also works with elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast decency standards. Most importantly, the PTC produces critical research and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex, violence and profanity in entertainment. This information is provided free of charge so parents can make informed viewing choices for their own families.