TV Parental Guidelines Wiki

Welcome to the TV Parental Guidelines Wiki
The TV Parental Guidelines system was first proposed on December 19, 1996 by the United States Congress, the television industry and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and went into effect by January 1, 1997 on most major U.S. broadcast and cable networks in response to public concerns of increasingly strong sexual content, intense violence and strong profanity in television programs. It was established as a voluntary-participation system, with ratings to be determined by the individually-participating broadcast and cable networks.

It was specifically designed to be used with the V-Chip, which was mandated to be built into all television sets manufactured since 2000, but the guidelines themselves have no legal force, and does not apply to news or sports programming, thus precluding networks like CNN, Fox News Network, ESPN and Fox News from applying the ratings system, along with the majority of infomercials (which are classified the same as regular commercial break advertising, which also is not rated); however recently, this rule has stopped applying to some entertainment news and newsmagazine programs such as Extra and Acces Hollywood which all now carry TV-PG ratings mainly due to fare use clip content from outside sources including reality television programming which is often above the TV-G threshold.

TV-Y
''(All children ages 0-6) Whether animated or live-action, the themes and elements in this program are specifically designed for a very young audience, including children from ages 0–6. These programs are not expected to frighten younger children.

TV-Y7
(Directed to children 7 and older) These shows may or may not be appropriate for some children under the age of 7. This rating may include crude, suggestive humor, fantasy violence, or content considered too scary or controversial to be shown to children under seven.

The TV-Y7 rating may include the sub-heading:


 * FV: For fantasy violenceTV-Y7-FV.png

TV-G

(General audience) Although this rating does not signify a program designed specifically for children, most parents may let younger children watch this program unattended. It contains little or no violence, no strong language and little or no sexual dialogue or situations, and can be enjoyed by a variety of age groups. Networks that air informational, religious, educational, how-to content, or generally inoffensive content usually apply a blanket TV-G rating to all of their shows (unless otherwise noted).

TV-PG
(Parental guidance suggested) This rating signifies that the program may be unsuitable for children under 14 without the guidance of a parent. Many parents may want to watch it with their younger children. Various game shows and most reality shows are rated TV-PG for their suggestive dialogue, suggestive humor, and/or coarse language.

The TV-PG rating may be accompanied by one or more of the following sub-ratings:


 * D: For some suggestive dialogue
 * L: For some coarse language
 * S: For sexual content
 * V: For mild violence

TV-14
(Parents strongly cautioned/May be unsuitable for children under 14 years of age) Parents are strongly urged to exercise greater care in monitoring this program and are cautioned against letting children under 14 watch unattended.

This rating may be accompanied by any of the following sub-ratings:


 * D: For intensely suggestive dialogue
 * L: For strong coarse language
 * S: For strong sexual content
 * V: For intense violence

TV-MA
(Mature audience —May be unsuitable for audiences under 17) A TV-MA rating means the program may be unsuitable for those below 17. This rating was originally TV-M in early 1997 but was changed because of a trademark dispute and to remove confusion with the ESRB's "M for Mature" rating for video games. The program may contain extreme intense violence, strong profanity, overtly sexual dialogue, nudity and/or strong sexual content. Parents are strongly urged to exercise greater care in monitoring this program and are cautioned against letting children under 17 watch unattended. The vast majority of television shows that carry this rating are on cable and satellite TV; network television rarely airs any programming that would warrant such a rating, due to FCC indecency and obscenity guidelines that prevent most of this type of programming from airing on broadcast television.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">This rating may be accompanied by any of the following sub-ratings:


 * D: For graphic suggestive dialogue (unused for certain TV-MA shows)
 * L: For crude indecent language
 * S: For graphic sexual content
 * V: For graphic violence