PTC: How the Entertainment Industry Can Help Quarantined Families

LOS ANGELES (March 24, 2020) – The Parents Television Council is calling on the entertainment industry to take a few important steps to help quarantined families.

“Broadcasters need to step up and offer E/I (educational/instructional) programming during a set block of time each and every day. With so many schools closing due to the quarantine, families would benefit greatly from programs designed to teach and educate children of all ages. This move would fit well with the broadcasters’ high regard for E/I programming, as they themselves described in their FCC filings concerning recent KidVid rule changes. Such a move would exemplify the public interest obligation of broadcast licensee, and we urge all broadcasters to do this immediately,” said PTC President Tim Winter.

“Streaming platforms also need to help families by socially-distancing child-themed content from other content intended for adults. Too many streaming platforms enable children to have easy access to age-inappropriate content, sometimes placing kids’ content right next to extremely explicit content. With their deep, in-house technology expertise, better interface designs can and should be implemented immediately.

“Additionally, all streaming platforms should follow the leadership of Amazon and make quality educational programming available for free. In particular, we call on HBO to provide first-run episodes of Sesame Street available at no cost, so that families across the socioeconomic spectrum can have access to first-run episodes of one of the greatest children’s educational programs of all time.”

The PTC has created a Resource Guide for families impacted by the quarantine.