Activists, Industry Deal on Kids Rules

[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The WSJ broke this story yesterday, but details continue to seep out... children television advocates and representatives and media companies, including the Big Four broadcast TV networks, have agreed on changes to the FCC's digital kids TV rules that would allow more promos in kids shows, host selling, and preemptions for sports and other programming. They also agreed to voluntarily adopt the changes if the FCC has not acted on the proposals by March 1, 2006. Given meetings at the FCC this week, participants said they are confident that the FCC will rule favorably on the compromise before the January 1 effective date for the new rules. The deal would leave in place the requirement that broadcasters air three hours of children's TV per channel in both analog and digital. That was the key issue of the coalition, says Jeff McIntyre, co-chairman of the The Children's Media Policy Coalition. In addition, the media companies agreed not to challenge limits on the display of commercial Web sites during children's programming. Under the rules, those displays would count toward the ad limits in kids programming. The groups agreed to a modified form of host selling in which the use of TV characters to sell products to kids would be confined to specific areas of a Web site if that Web address was displayed in shows that featured those characters. The key, says McIntyre, is that there will have to be a buffer between the character and a sales pitch. Rep Ed Markey (D-MA), one of the greatest proponents of the 1990 Children's TV Act, was pleased by the deal. "This is a triumph of conversation over litigation," he said. "I am very pleased that both sides have abandoned litigation in favor of the productive conversation that has led to this proposal. This will considerably strengthen the protection of children from commercial excesses while allowing for industry practices which have matured under the current Children's TV rules."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6291870?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

* Kids' Advocates, Nets Strike Deal
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001699432

* Child Advocates, TV Come to Terms
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/15/AR2005121501910.html
(requires registration)

* Digital TV, Kids Groups in Deal
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-digital16dec16,1,7543815.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)