PTC Applauds FCC Report for Affirming Failings of TV Content Ratings System

LOS ANGELES (May 16, 2019) – The Parents Television Council responded to the FCC’s report to Congress on the state of the TV Content Ratings System. “We applaud the FCC for affirming the numerous, intrinsic failings of the TV content ratings system that we’ve been proclaiming for years. We wholeheartedly agree with the recommendations put forth by the Commission to improve the ratings system and its oversight; but those improvements must not, cannot, simply be abdicated back to the very industry that has ensured the system’s failings thus far,” said PTC President Tim Winter. “Over the course of my countless conversations with policymakers inside the Beltway, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel put it best: ‘How can we help parents to be better parents?’ That is precisely the right question for every stakeholder to be addressing here. The Report’s last twelve words were perhaps its most important words: ‘We note the ratings system has not changed in over 20 years.’ Boom! “The FCC’s Report rightly notes that the vast majority of public comments it received came from individual consumers; it rightly notes that nearly all of the commenters voiced concerns or dissatisfaction; it rightly notes that the record suggests that a better job could be done; and it rightly notes that sufficient concerns have been expressed about the system’s accuracy to merit additional action. “The next step in the process for positive change needs to be public hearings, or perhaps a symposium, conducted by the Congress or the FCC, that can deliver to parents a reliable and robust content ratings system which reflects the realities of today’s entertainment media landscape. The FCC’s Report must be a catalyst for improvement, not a terminus for this debate.”