TV shows’ explicit content gives no warning, study finds

WASHINGTON — Parents relying on the television ratings system to block objectionable content from their children might want to reconsider its usefulness, according to a new study that finds TV programs often include explicit content without the proper warning and that TV-PG programming has explicit content every five and a half minutes.

The study by the Parents Television Council (PTC) examined all primetime programming for the four major broadcast networks during the first two weeks of the November 2011 sweeps period. 

PTC found that:

• 44 percent of the instances of explicit content on TV-PG programming did not include the needed descriptor — “L” (language), “D” (suggestive dialogue), “S” (sexual situations) or “V” (violence). 
• primetime programming includes so much explicit content during TV-PG shows that a child would have been exposed to such content every five and a half minutes.

The study examined only TV-PG content.

Tim Winter, president of PTC, said, “As we approach the 15-year anniversary of the ratings system, it is apparent that the system itself is in need of dramatic reform. Broadcast networks produce and rate their own content, leaving parents with a deeply flawed and largely inaccurate ratings system.”

With the V-Chip providing only limited help for parents, some companies have tried to fill the void with their own products. One company, TVGuardian, sells a unit that mutes profanity on broadcast television. Another company, ClearPlay, sells a DVD player that mutes bad language and also skips objectionable scenes. While that does not help with broadcast TV, it does offer a solution for those willing to wait until their favorite programs are released on DVD.