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This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 14, 2000 |
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: David Fiske at (202) 418-0513 |
CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING EXTENDED
Washington, DC -- The FCC today amended its rules to continue the requirement that commercial television broadcasters file with the FCC their quarterly Children's Television Programming Reports describing their children's educational and informational programming.
In a Report and Order adopted today, the Commission extended this FCC filing requirement and will require that broadcasters submit the reports to the Commission quarterly, when they are prepared. The Commission noted that 70 percent of broadcasters already file this report with the Commission quarterly. Quarterly filing will provide the public and the Commission with more current information and will allow parents to use this information to plan their children's television viewing.
Among other things, these reports identify the educational and informational programs aired by the station over the previous quarter and the days and times these programs were regularly scheduled, the age of the target audience for each program, and the average number of hours per week of core children's programming broadcast over the past quarter and the children's programming plans for the next quarter.
Under the Commission's 1996 Order implementing the Children's Television Act, commercial TV stations were required to prepare and place in their public inspection file quarterly reports on their children's educational programming. The Order also required that the reports be filed with the Commission on an annual basis (four quarterly reports filed jointly once a year) for an experimental period of three years.
The Commission also made a number of revisions to the quarterly report to make the information contained in the form clearer and more useful to the public and the FCC. The revised form will provide more complete information regarding the level of preemption of core programs and station practices in rescheduling such programs, as well information about the program guide publishers to whom stations provide information about their core programs.
The Commission also asked for comments on the tentative conclusion that broadcasters maintaining websites be required to make their quarterly reports accessible through their websites. Action by the Commission September 14, 2000, by Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed R
ulemaking (FCC No. 00-343). Chairman Kennard, Commissioners Ness and Powell; Commissioner Tristani concurring in part and dissenting in part; and Commissioner Furchtgott-Roth dissenting, and Chairman Kennard and Commissioners Furchtgott-Roth, Powell, and Tristani each issuing separate a statement.
MM Docket No. 00-44
Mass Media Bureau contact: Kim Matthews at (202) 418-2154.