Senator Markey Leads Colleagues in Call for Maintaining Strong Children’s Television Rules

Sen Ed Markey (D-MA.) led eight of his Democratic colleagues in calling on the Federal Communications Commission to maintain essential elements of the “Kid Vid” rules, which ensure access to children’s education programming on over-the-air broadcast television, in accordance with the Children’s Television Act. The letter, a response to the Commission’s recently-released draft order, urges FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to preserve existing rules requiring broadcasters to air three hours of regularly scheduled educational children’s programming a week on their primary stations. “While we are pleased that the FCC is not moving forward with its initial plan to dismantle the children’s television rules, we write to express our concern that the Commission’s current proposed changes would limit the reach of educational content available to children and have a particularly damaging effect on youth in low-income and minority communities.” write the Senators. “The Commission’s current proposal would allow a third of required educational content to be aired on secondary ‘multicast’ stations, effectively limiting viewers’ access to these shows for the sake of providing increased ‘flexibility’.”  Also signing the letter are Sens Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).