The broadcast of educational children's programming by terrestrial television stations in the United States is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under regulations colloquially referred to as the Children's Television Act (CTA), the E/I rules, or the Kid Vid rules. Since 1997, all full-power and Class A low-power broadcast television stations have been required to broadcast at least three hours (or more if they operate digital subchannels) per-week of programs that are specifically designed to meet the educational and informative (E/I) needs of children aged 16 and younger. There are also regulations on advertising in television programs targeting children 12 and younger, which are enforced by the FCC for broadcast television and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for cable television.
Early regulations on educational programming were implemented by the FCC in 1991, as ordered by the Children's Television Act—an Act of Congress passed in 1990. They included a requirement for television stations to publish reports on their efforts to carry programming that "furthers the positive development of children 16 years of age and under in any respect, including the child's intellectual/cognitive or social/emotional needs", and for the FCC to use these reports as a factor in license renewals. The Act also imposed limits on advertising during television programming targeting viewers 12 and younger, including limits on how many minutes of commercials may be aired per-hour, and prohibiting commercials that are related to the program currently airing. The FCC adopted a stronger regulation known as the Children's Programming Report and Order in 1996, which took effect in 1997: it requires all television stations to broadcast at least three hours of programming per-week that is specifically designed to educate and inform viewers aged 16 and younger, requires on-air identification of these programs, and has more stringent reporting requirements.
The regulations had a major impact on American television; there was an increased demand for compliant educational programming on the syndication market, while the Saturday-morning blocks traditionally aired by major networks began to increase their focus on educational programming. This factor, however, alongside the growth of platforms not subject to the regulations—such as children's cable channels and, later, internet video and streaming services—contributed to an overall decline in broadcast television airings of non-educational children's programming (such as cartoons). In the 2010s, the major networks gradually shifted to using factual, reality-style programs declared as targeting teenagers to fulfill their E/I obligations, since they are not subject to the same restrictions on advertising as programs targeting children 12 and under. ABC, CBS, NBC, The CW and Telemundo all entered into agreements with Hearst Media Production Group (formerly Litton Entertainment) to program their E/I blocks, while Fox reached a similar agreement with Steve Rotfeld Productions.
The educational programming regulations have faced a mixed reception from the industry. There have historically been concerns over whether these mandates constitute a violation of broadcasters' rights to free speech. The FCC's initial regulations faced criticism for being too broad in its definition of children's educational programming, with stations attempting to classify various non-educational programs as containing educational elements. The amount of network television programming considered "highly educational" decreased after the implementation of the CTA, with the allowance for programming dealing with social issues (as opposed to programming dealing in traditional academic subjects) having been cited as a factor. The regulations were described by then-FCC commissioner Michael O'Rielly as "onerous" and outdated due to the cable and new media platforms that have emerged since their introduction, which led to changes in 2019 to provide more flexibility in compliance.
Background Concern over the impact that television had on children began when it was still a new entertainment medium. During the 1950s, many individuals, particularly parents, asked their legislators to do something about the potential effects of television viewing on young people. Academic research was subsequently initiated to monitor, analyze and explain the relationships between television and children, although the impact of television on academic performance continues to be debated in scholarly research. The first attempt to address these concerns were during Congressional hearings in 1952 that addressed violence. Besides Congress, there were government commissions that also pursued this agenda. Included in these discussions were the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission, and advocacy groups formed by concerned citizens. The FCC intended to change a number of policies regarding children's programming.
Research demonstrated that young children had difficulty distinguishing between the program they were watching, and commercials broadcast during them. Most children had little or no understanding of the persuasive intent of commercials, and as such, were highly vulnerable to claims and appeals by advertisers. Advertisers, especially those related to junk food, were interested in youth as consumers because of their spending power through their parents, their influence, and their brand awareness as adult consumers in the future.
History Newton Minow was one of the first federal officials to speak of the need for regulation of children's programming, openly denouncing cartoons as being unfit for the airwaves in his 1961 landmark speech "Television and the Public Interest". He did not take any direct action because he believed that improvements could be made without force and could be resolved by increasing competition through UHF television and expanding non-commercial educational options.Newton N. Minow, "Television and the Public Interest ", address to the National Association of Broadcasters, Washington, D.C., May 9, 1961.
In 1968, activist Peggy Charren established Action for Children's Television (ACT)—a lobbying group that campaigned for high-quality children's programming to be broadcast by television stations. ACT believed that the broadcasting of educational programming was part of broadcasters' obligations to serve the public interest, as required by their broadcast license. In the early 1970s, ACT successfully pressured the major networks to remove "violent" superhero cartoons from their children's programming, and in 1971, first proposed restrictions on airing any advertising during children's programs.
In 1969, television host Fred Rogers testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Communications during hearings over proposed funding cuts to public broadcasting. At a time when President Richard Nixon sought to reduce funding from $20 million to $10 million, Rogers advocated for the educational and emotional value of non-commercial children's television. His testimony was widely broadcast, and has been described as one of the most powerful congressional presentations.King, p. 176. According to media scholars, it contributed to the successful effort to secure increased funding for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which rose to $22 million.King, p. 172. Rogers' appearance highlighted growing federal interest in supporting children's educational programming through public media infrastructure.
In the early 1980s, ACT criticized the major networks for their decreasing commitments to educational programming, citing the cancellations of ABC's Animals, Animals, Animals and CBS's children's news magazine 30 Minutes as examples. It also criticized the networks for airing cartoons that they considered to be promotional vehicles for associated toylines rather than bona fide entertainment, such as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, My Little Pony, and The Transformers.
In 1982, Reagan administration FCC chairman Mark S. Fowler lamented upon CBS's decision to move its long-running children's series Captain Kangaroo from its historic weekday morning timeslot, to weekends, in order to accommodate an expanded morning newscast. CBS had already shortened the program from a full hour to 30 minutes in 1981 for the same reason. At the time, the big three networks scheduled the majority of their children's programming—including cartoons—during their Saturday morning lineups. They also aired occasional "after school specials"—anthologies of television films focusing on issues affecting youth—in late-afternoon timeslots. Captain Kangaroo had to compete not only with news-based morning shows such as ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today, but local and syndicated offerings also targeting children.
Fowler was against mandating the broadcast of educational programming by commercial stations, arguing that it was within their First Amendment rights to choose the programming they wish to broadcast, and adding that "it's too bad Captain Kangaroo is gone, but the Government should not be issuing directives about what should be on the air." Instead, he proposed that commercial broadcasters be required to make annual contributions to a development fund for educational programming on public television.
His proposal faced criticism from the major networks: ABC's president of children's programming Squire D. Rushnell argued that commercial broadcasters were doing a better job at serving children than public broadcasters, while NBC vice president Betty Hudson criticized the proposal as a "tax" on commercial broadcasting. Captain Kangaroo creator and host Bob Keeshan disagreed, arguing that children were "just too important to be left to the networks and their profit motives." Citing the recent New York v. Ferber decision, he told The New York Times that "despite the guarantee of free speech, our children are so precious that the free speech of the [child] pornographer had to give way to allow us to protect children from exploitation."
Children's Television Act
In October 1990, the Children's Television Act (CTA) was enacted into law. This Act of Congress ordered the FCC to implement regulations surrounding programming that serves the "educational and informational" (E/I) needs of children, as well as the amount of advertising broadcast during television programs aimed towards children. This included that a station's commitment to airing and supporting educational children's programming had to become a factor in license renewals, and that limits had to be imposed on the amount of advertising that could be aired during television programs targeting children.
The CTA also called for the Secretary of Education to establish an endowment "for the purpose of creating and producing television programming specifically directed toward the development in children of fundamental intellectual skills". The fund received an initial allocation of $6 million over two years, with $2 million for fiscal year 1991 and $4 million for 1992. Programs that received funding from the endowment were required to premiere on public television. They could then be syndicated to commercial stations, provided that they were broadcast without advertising.
The FCC implemented the CTA via new regulations that came into effect on October 1, 1991. Television stations and cable providers were required to maintain and publish summaries of the children's educational programming that they broadcast, defined as "programming that furthers the positive development of children 16 years of age and under in any respect, including the child's intellectual/cognitive or social/emotional needs".