Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Children’s Television Obligations Of Digital Television Broadcasters ) ) ) ) MM Docket No. 00-167 NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE MAKING Adopted: September 14, 2000 Released: October 5, 2000 Comment Date: December 18, 2000 Reply Comment Date: January 17, 2001 By the Commission: Commissioners Furchtgott-Roth and Tristani concurring in part, dissenting in part, and issuing separate statements; Commissioner Powell issuing a statement. I. INTRODUCTION 1. We issue this Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“Notice”) to seek comment on a range of issues related to the obligation of digital television (“DTV”) broadcasters to serve children. We focus in this proceeding primarily on two areas: the obligation of television broadcast licensees to provide educational and informational programming for children and the requirement that television broadcast licensees limit the amount of advertising in children’s programs. Although we seek comment largely on challenges unique to the digital area, we also explore several issues that children’s advocates have raised about children’s educational and informational programming more generally. II. BACKGROUND 2. American children spend a considerable amount of time watching television. Recent data show that children in this country spend, on average, almost three hours a day watching television. In view of the significant role that television plays in the lives of children, this medium has great potential to contribute to children’s development. As Congress has stated, “[i]t is difficult to think of an interest more substantial than the promotion of the welfare of children who watch so much television and rely upon it for so much of the information they receive.” 3. For over 30 years, the Commission has recognized that, as part of their obligation as trustees of the public’s airwaves, broadcasters must provide programming that serves the special needs of children. The Commission’s efforts to promote programming for children began in 1960 with the statement that children were one of the several groups whose programming needs television licensees must meet to fulfill their community public interest responsibilities. In 1974, the Commission instituted a wide ranging inquiry into children’s programming and advertising practices, which led to publication of the Children’s Television Report and Policy Statement (“1974 Policy Statement”). The Commission concluded that broadcasters have “a special obligation” to serve children and stated its expectation that licensees would increase the number of programs aimed at children in specific age groups. The Commission also concluded that children are more “trusting and vulnerable to commercial ‘pitches’ than adults” and that children “cannot distinguish conceptually between programming and advertising.” The Commission stated its expectation that the industry would eliminate “host selling” and product “tie-ins,” use separation between programs and commercials during children’s programming, and honor the industry’s voluntary advertising guidelines for children’s programs. 4. Later in the 1970s, the Commission undertook further study of the availability of educational programming for children. Finding that the industry had failed to respond to its earlier call for improvements, the Commission considered formal regulation. In 1984, however, the Commission decided not to establish quantitative program requirements for broadcasters, relying instead on market forces to ensure a sufficient supply of educational programming for children. Following this decision, the amount of children’s educational programming aired by commercial television stations decreased markedly. Also in 1984, the Commission repealed the commercial guidelines for children’s programming, leading to an increase in the amount of commercial matter broadcast during children’s programming. 5. In 1990, Congress enacted the Children’s Television Act of 1990 (“CTA”). The CTA imposes two principal requirements. First, commercial television broadcast licensees and cable operators must limit the amount of commercial matter that may be aired during children’s programs to not more than 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and not more than 12 minutes per hour on weekdays. Second, the CTA requires that, in its review of television broadcast renewal applications, the Commission must consider whether commercial television licensees have complied with the commercialization limits, and whether all television broadcast licensees have served “the educational and informational needs of children through the licensee’s overall programming, including programming specifically designed to serve such needs.” In enacting the CTA, Congress found that, while television can benefit society by helping to educate and inform children, there are significant market disincentives for commercial broadcasters to air children’s educational and informational programming. The objective of Congress in enacting the CTA was to increase the amount of educational and informational programming on television. 6. The Commission first promulgated rules implementing the CTA in 1991. The Commission determined that the statutory children’s programming commercial limits would apply to programs originally produced and broadcast for an audience of children 12 years old and under. Commercial matter was defined as “air time sold for purposes of selling a product.” In other words, the advertiser must give some valuable consideration either directly or indirectly to the broadcaster as an inducement for airing the material. The Commission also reaffirmed and clarified its long-standing policy that a program associated with a product, in which commercials for that product are aired, would cause the entire program to be counted as commercial time (a “program-length commercial”). Television licensees are required to certify their compliance with the commercial limits as part of their license renewal application, and must maintain records sufficient to permit substantiation of the certification. 7. In August 1996, the Commission adopted its current educational programming rules enforcing the CTA. The Commission’s rules include several measures to improve public access to information about the availability of programming "specifically designed” to serve children’s educational and informational needs (otherwise known as “core” programming). These measures include a requirement that licensees identify core programming at the time it is aired and in information provided to publishers of television programming guides. Licensees are required to designate a children’s liaison at the station responsible for collecting comments on the station’s compliance with the CTA. Licensees must also prepare and place in their public inspection files a quarterly Children’s Television Programming Report identifying their core programming and other efforts to comply with their educational programming obligations. 8. In addition, our rules establish a definition of “core” programming. “Core” programming is defined as regularly scheduled, weekly programming of at least 30 minutes, aired between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., that has serving the educational and informational needs of children ages 16 and under as a significant purpose. The program must be identified as core programming when it is aired and in information provided to program guide publishers. 9. Finally, to provide certainty to broadcasters about how to comply with the CTA and to facilitate fair and efficient processing of the CTA portion of broadcasters’ renewal applications, the Commission also adopted a processing guideline. Under this guideline, a broadcaster can receive staff- level approval of the CTA portion of its renewal application by airing at least three hours per week of programming that meets the definition of “core” educational programming. Alternatively, a broadcaster can receive staff-level renewal by showing that it has aired a package of different types of educational and informational programming that, while containing somewhat less than three hours per week of core programming, demonstrates a level of commitment to educating and informing children that is at least equivalent to airing three hours per week of core programming. Licensees not meeting these criteria will have their license renewal applications referred to the Commission. 10. We seek comment today on how these existing children’s television obligations, developed with analog technology in mind, should be adapted to apply to digital television broadcasting. Digital television is a new technology for transmitting and receiving broadcast television signals that delivers better pictures and sound, uses the broadcast spectrum more efficiently, and offers a range of possible applications. DTV broadcasters will have the technical capability and regulatory flexibility to: air high definition TV (HDTV); “multicast,” that is, to send as many as 4 - 6 digital “standard-definition television” (SDTV) signals; or provide “ancillary or supplementary services,” including video and data services that are potentially revenue-producing, such as subscription television, computer software distribution, data transmissions, teletext, interactive services, and “time-shifted” video programming. Broadcasters could choose to shift back and forth among these different DTV modes -- HDTV, SDTV, and new video/information services -- during a single programming day. To facilitate the transition from analog to digital television, Congress directed the Commission to grant a second channel for each full- service television licensee in the country to be used for digital broadcasting during the period of conversion to an all-digital broadcast service. 11. In December 1999, we released a Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”) to commence collecting views on how the public interest obligations of television broadcasters should change in the digital era. As we observed in the NOI, both Congress and the Commission have recognized that digital television broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest. Congress stated in section 336 of the Communications Act that “[n]othing in this section shall be construed as relieving a television broadcasting station from its obligation to serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity.” In implementing section 336, the Commission required that broadcasters air a “free digital video programming service the resolution of which is comparable to or better than that of today’s service, and aired during the same time period that their analog channel is broadcasting.” The Commission also reaffirmed that “digital broadcasters remain public trustees with a responsibility to serve the public interest,” and stated that “existing public interest requirements continue to apply to all broadcast licensees.” 12. We recognize that the CTA is written broadly to apply to television broadcast licensees and that there is nothing in the CTA itself, nor the legislative history, to suggest that the statutory requirement, or the regulations promulgated thereunder, should be limited to analog broadcasters. Indeed, the objectives of the CTA – e.g., to increase the amount of educational and information broadcast television programming available to children and to protect children from overcommercialization of programming – would apply equally to the digital broadcasting context. Given this, and in light of explicit congressional intent expressed in section 336 to continue to require digital broadcasters to serve the public interest, we conclude that digital broadcasters are subject to all of the CTA’s commercial limits and educational and informational programming requirements. Digital broadcasters must also continue to comply with our policies regarding program-commercial separation, host selling, and program-length commercials. The purpose of this proceeding is to determine how these requirements should be interpreted and adapted with respect to digital broadcasting in light of the new capabilities made possible by that technology. 13. We request comment herein on a variety of issues related to application of our existing children’s programming rules to digital broadcasting. We also invite comment on a number of specific proposals offered by commenters responding to the NOI, and on some of the views expressed by the President’s Advisory Committee on the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters (“Advisory Committee”). As we indicated in the NOI, the Advisory Committee, representing a broad cross-section of interests from industry, academia, and public interest organizations, submitted a report in 1998 containing recommendations on the public interest obligations digital television broadcasters should assume. Although the Advisory Committee focused on many issues beyond the scope of this proceeding, we will discuss below some of the recommendations of the committee and of individual participants that relate to children’s television. III. ISSUES AND REQUEST FOR COMMENT A. Educational and Informational Programming 14. Background. One of the questions we posed in the NOI is how public interest obligations generally, including the obligation to provide children’s educational and informational programming, apply to a DTV broadcaster that chooses to multicast. We also asked how we should take into account the fact that DTV broadcasters have the flexibility to vary the amount and quality of broadcast programming they offer throughout the day. For example, a broadcaster could air 4 SDTV channels from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., switch to two higher definition channels from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., and finish with one HDTV channel for prime-time and late-night programming. Different broadcasters are likely to provide a different overall combination of broadcast hours and quality. We also note that DTV broadcasters may choose to devote a portion of their spectrum to either non-video services, such as datacasting, or to subscription broadcast services available only to viewers who pay a fee, consistent with the requirement that they provide at least one free, over-the-air video program service to viewers. 15. Discussion. Our current three-hour children’s core educational programming processing guideline applies to DTV broadcasters. We invite comment, however, on how the guideline should be applied in light of the myriad of possible ways that broadcasters may choose to use their DTV spectrum. Should the processing guideline apply to only one digital broadcasting program stream, to more than one program stream, or to all program streams the broadcaster chooses to provide? Should the guideline apply only to free broadcast services, or also to services offered for a fee? In this regard, we note that the CTA requires that television broadcast licensees serve the educational and informational needs of children “through the licensee’s overall programming, including programming specifically designed to serve such needs.” How should we interpret this phrase in terms of digital broadcasters’ requirement to provide educational programming? 16. We also ask how the existing three-hour guideline would be best applied in the digital context. Commenters responding to questions posed in the NOI offer a number of suggestions as to how the processing guideline could be adapted to apply in a multicast environment. We welcome comment on these specific proposals, outlined below, as well as other suggestions for ways our guideline should be interpreted and adapted with respect to digital broadcasting. We also seek comment on when any new requirements that relate to digital broadcasting should become effective. 17. Proportional Hours. One approach, suggested by Children Now and People for Better TV, is that each digital television broadcaster be required to provide an amount of weekly core programming that is proportional to the three hour per week quantitative guideline. Specifically, these commenters propose that DTV broadcasters be required to devote three percent of their programmable broadcast hours per week to core educational programming. This three percent figure is derived by dividing the current 3 hour guideline by 105, or the total number of hours/week available for core programming during the 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. broadcast window (15 hours/day times 7 days/week equals 105 hours/week). Under this approach, to derive their quantitative core programming obligation, broadcasters would calculate their total digital broadcast hours per week, multiply that total by 3 percent, and round up to the closest five-tenths as half-hour segments are the smallest unit for programming under the definition of core programming. Broadcasters would be required to report this calculation in their quarterly Children’s Television Programming Reports, which would determine the broadcaster’s core programming obligation for the following quarter. 18. In light of the range of possible technical qualities available with DTV technology, from SDTV to HDTV with different datacasting and interactive capabilities included, we also invite comment on whether we should require broadcasters to provide core educational programming in a certain technical format. One approach would be to require broadcasters to use for core programming a technical format that is consistent with the overall quality of the broadcaster’s other programming. Our concern in this regard is to ensure that broadcasters not segregate core programming consistently to the lowest possible audio/visual quality offered by the broadcaster. 19. The Children Now proportional hours proposal raises a number of questions. If we were to impose a 3 percent core programming obligation, what kind of programming should be included for purposes of calculating the overall number of hours of core programming a DTV broadcaster would be required to provide? Should the percent requirement apply only to free video programming (e.g., 3 percent of all free video programming must be core), or should the percent also apply to datacasting (e.g., 3 percent of all free video programming and datacasting must be core)? Should subscription programming be included in the calculation? Should the 3 percent figure apply to a DTV broadcasters’ total amount of programming, or to each programming stream? In addition, how should we address how core programming should be distributed on the broadcaster’s channels? Should we require broadcasters to air their core programming on their “primary” channel, or allow them the flexibility to decide how that programming should be distributed over their various program streams? We invite comment on the proportional hours proposal and on these related issues. 20. Pay or Play. Children Now also suggests that, as a corollary to their proportional hours proposal, the Commission could adopt a “Pay or Play” model to allow digital broadcasters maximum flexibility in meeting their core programming obligation. Under this approach, once the core programming obligation is quantified, broadcasters would have the choice of meeting these obligations either through their own programming or by paying other networks or channels to air these hours for them, or a combination of both. Children Now points out that this model could promote partnerships among commercial broadcasters or among commercial and non-commercial broadcasters in a given market, and could provide much needed support to public broadcasters who have a strong commitment to core programming. Children Now also notes, however, that, under such a model, children’s programming could be limited to public broadcasting or to less popular commercial stations, resulting in less exposure to such programming for children. Another concern is that commercial broadcasters may not pay public broadcasters or less successful commercial broadcasters enough to fund high quality children’s programming which could, in the end, result in an overall reduction in the quality of core programs. We note that the Commission’s rules currently allow broadcasters, under certain conditions, to meet their CTA obligation by sponsoring core programs aired on another station in the same market. We invite comment on the “Pay or Play” approach and the advantages and disadvantages of adopting such a model for educational programming. 21. Menu Approach. The Center for Media Education, filing jointly with nine other individuals and public interest organizations (collectively referred to herein as “CME et al.”), urges the Commission to adopt children’s guidelines that impose additional obligations on broadcasters, but provide them with flexibility in meeting these obligations. CME et al. argues that the current amount of three hours-per-week of core programming is insufficient in light of the added capacity multicasting offers. Specifically, CME et al. proposes that digital broadcasters have the option of satisfying their children’s programming obligation by providing, at their option, some combination of the following: (1) additional “core” educational and informational programming; (2) broadband or datacasting services to local schools, libraries, or community centers that serve children; or (3) support for the production of children’s educational programming by local public stations or other noncommercial program producers, such as the National Endowment for Children’s Programming. CME et al. points out that public television stations could use additional funding to create new children’s educational programs that take advantage of DTV’s enhanced capabilities. CME et al. would not require that DTV broadcasters air core programs on each of their program streams, but instead would permit the creation of specialized channels where core programming could be more easily located by children and parents. 22. We invite comment on the CME et al. proposal and, more generally, on the concept of offering broadcasters a choice of ways they can meet their obligation under the CTA. If we were to adopt a menu approach, are there other types of obligations, apart from those suggested by CME et al., that we should allow broadcasters to choose from? One option would be to allow broadcasters to undertake additional outreach efforts to make parents and others aware of the availability of core programs and how to identify and locate them. If we were to include this as an option in a menu approach, what kind of outreach efforts should we require? 23. Daily Core Programming Obligation. The Advisory Committee Report describes another approach regarding the obligation of digital broadcasters to air children’s programming that would require digital broadcasters to air no less than 1 hour of children’s educational programming each day on the broadcaster’s main channel. We invite comment generally on this proposal. 24. Other Digital Improvements. Finally, we ask commenters to address whether the advanced capabilities of digital broadcasting can be used in other ways to help implement the CTA. One approach would be to require broadcasters to use datacasting to make available during a core program information explaining why the program is considered to qualify as “core.” Another option would be to require broadcasters to provide additional content ratings information on core programs from independent sources, such as public interest groups that rate educational children’s programming. Such information could be provided through a direct link to the internet where the content ratings information could be accessed. We seek comment on these proposals, as well as other suggestions for how digital capacity could be used to help improve our existing children’s programming requirements. B. Preemption 25. Background. Related to the issue of how the children’s educational and informational programming obligation will apply in the digital age is the issue of how we will treat preemptions of core programs by DTV broadcasters. To qualify as “core programming” for purposes of the three-hour-per- week processing guideline, the Commission requires that a children’s program be “regularly scheduled,” that is, a core children’s program must “be scheduled to air at least once a week” and “must air on a regular basis.” In adopting its current educational programming rules, the Commission stated that television series typically air in the same time slot for 13 consecutive weeks, although some episodes may be preempted for programs such as breaking news or live sports events. The Commission noted that programming that is aired on a regular basis is more easily anticipated and located by viewers, and can build loyalty that will improve its chance for commercial success. The Commission stated that it would leave to the staff to determine, with guidance from the full Commission as necessary, what constitutes regularly scheduled programming and what level of preemption is allowable. 26. Since the adoption of the Children’s Programming Report and Order, the ABC, CBS, and NBC networks have requested flexibility to reschedule episodes of core programs that are preempted by live network sports events without adversely affecting the program’s status as “regularly scheduled.” Separate requests have been made in connection with each of the 1997-98, 1998-99, and 1999-2000 television seasons. For two of these seasons, the Mass Media Bureau has allowed the networks limited flexibility in preempting core children’s programming. Specifically, within certain limitations, the Bureau advised that preempted core programs could count toward a station’s core programming obligation if the program were rescheduled. The Bureau also indicated that it would revisit this limited flexibility regarding preempted core programming based on the level of preempted programs, the rescheduling and broadcast of the preempted programs, the impact of promotions and other steps taken by the stations to make children’s educational programming a success. 27. The Commission requires licensees, in their quarterly Children’s Television Programming Reports, to identify for each core program the number of times the program was preempted and rescheduled. In another Report and Order adopted today, the Commission revised its quarterly Children’s Television Programming Report to make the preemption information in that report clearer and to collect information on the reason for each preemption as well as the licensee’s efforts to promote the rescheduled program. The purpose of these changes is to collect more complete data regarding the level of preemption of core programs and station practices in rescheduling these programs. This data will in turn allow the FCC and others to better monitor the impact of preemptions on the availability of core programs. 28. Discussion. As noted above, the Commission required that programming must be “regularly scheduled” to qualify under the three-hour guideline. This requirement was based on the fact that programming that is aired on a regular basis is more easily anticipated and located by viewers, and therefore more likely to be seen by its intended audience. Although acknowledging that preemption might occur, the Commission expected that preemption of core programming would be rare. The Mass Media Bureau staff has recently reviewed a random sample of the Children’s Television Programming Reports, and determined that the average preemption rate by stations affiliated with the largest networks during the past two years is nearly 10%, and has been as high as 25% during a quarter when a network had a large number of sports programming commitments. Given this level of preemption, we believe we should consider whether we should adopt another approach to preemptions in the digital context to ensure that our preemption policy does not thwart the goals of the CTA. DTV broadcasters will have the option of airing multiple streams of programming simultaneously, thus increasing their flexibility to either avoid preempting core programs or to reschedule such programs to a regular “second home.” Given this capability, are there ways in which the Commission could revise its preemption policies to simplify or eliminate the need for networks to seek approval of their planned preemption and rescheduling practices for each television season, and to streamline licensees’ recordkeeping and reporting requirements? One approach would be to fashion a rule that would provide clear guidance to digital broadcasters on the meaning of the requirement that a “core” program be “regularly scheduled.” Such a rule could cover the number of times a core program could be preempted and still count toward the three-hour-per-week processing guideline, and/or the efforts that must be made to reschedule and promote preempted programs in order for these programs to contribute toward the core programming guideline. If we were to adopt such a rule, should we continue to exempt from the requirement that core programs be rescheduled core programs preempted for breaking news? We request comment generally on all of these issues, and on how we could refine and clarify our definition of “regularly scheduled” to address the issue of preempted core programs in the digital age. We also ask commenters to address specifically the kind of rescheduling practices and promotion of rescheduled programs that we could require from digital broadcasters consistent with our goal of ensuring that viewers can anticipate and locate the rescheduled program. For example, should a station be allowed to shift a preempted core program to another digital program stream? If so, should we require that the substitute program stream be of the same technical quality as the stream on which the program is regularly scheduled? Should we permit a preempted program to be shifted from a free to a pay program stream? C. Commercial Limits 29. Background. Another issue posed by the transition from analog to digital broadcasting is how the Commission’s children’s programming advertising limits and policies will apply to DTV broadcasters. By converging internet capabilities with broadcasting, digital television permits a new level of interactivity between broadcasters, advertisers, and viewers. This capability offers great potential for enhancing the educational value of children’s programs by, for example, permitting children to click on icons that appear on the screen during the program which take them to websites with more in- depth information about the topics covered in the program. However, the interactive capabilities of DTV also allow for the direct sale of goods and services over the television. This capability presents marketers with new opportunities to reach children, which raises concerns in light of the difficulty young children have in distinguishing commercials from programming and the particular vulnerability of children to advertising. 30. Discussion. Application of Existing Commercial Limits Rules and Policies to DTV. We seek comment both on how the limits on the amount of commercial matter in children’s programming should apply in this digital environment and how we should interpret with respect to DTV broadcasters the policies set forth in the 1974 Policy Statement on children’s programming. One question that arises is whether children’s advertising limits and policies should apply only to free over-the-air channels, or to all digital channels both free and pay? We raised this issue in our NOI, where we asked whether a licensee’s public interest obligations apply to its ancillary and supplementary services, and asked commenters to address the relevance of section 336 in this regard. 31. CME et al. expresses the view that the existing advertising restrictions, including the separations, host-selling, and program-length commercial policies, should apply to all digital programs directed to children ages 12 and under, regardless of the program stream on which they are offered. Thus, CME et al. argues that these policies should apply when children are watching video programs, regardless of whether the channel is free or pay. We request comment on this view. 32. In addition, CME et al. proposes that the Commission prohibit all direct links to commercial websites during children’s programming. We invite comment on this proposal. Should the Commission prohibit the use of digital television interactivity capability in children’s programs to sell products? Is such a prohibition appropriate in light of the unique ability of children to be influenced by commercial matter and their difficulty distinguishing commercials from other programming? If commercial links are freely available in programs not subject to our commercial limits (e.g., programs directed at adults and children over the age of 12), would prohibiting them or restricting them in programming directed to children ages 12 and under make this programming less desirable and thus less likely to be selected by children? Should we make a distinction between websites that carry only commercial products, and websites that also offer educational information related to the program? If we permit certain kinds of direct commercial links during children’s programs, should such links be permitted to appear during the program itself, or be limited to appearing during commercials adequately separated from program material as required by our separations policy? In addition, if we were to allow the use of direct commercial links, should we limit the duration of time they appear on the screen? How should the appearance of a commercial link be counted in calculating the number of commercial minutes for purposes of our commercial limits? Finally, if we allow certain kinds of direct commercial links, should we prohibit links to websites that sell products associated with the program in which the links appear under our program-length commercial policy, or links to websites where a the program host is used to sell products? We invite commenters to address all of these issues, as well as any other issues related to the use of direct website links during children’s programming. 33. Definition of Commercial Matter. We also invite commenters to address a broader question related to our restriction on the duration of advertising during children’s programming. This is an issue that arises with respect to both analog and digital broadcasting. Under our current policy, the limitation of 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and 12 minutes per hour on weekdays applies to “commercial matter.” “Commercial matter” is defined to exclude certain types of program interruptions from counting toward the commercial limits, including promotions of upcoming programs that do not contain sponsor-related mentions, public service messages promoting not-for-profit activities, and air- time sold for purposes of presenting educational and informational material. We have observed that there is a significant amount of time devoted to these types of announcements in children’s programming. As a result, the amount of time devoted to actual program material is often far less than the limitation on the duration of commercial matter alone might suggest. For example, in an hour-long weekend program, only 10.5 minutes may be devoted to commercial matter, leaving 49.5 minutes for actual program material. In fact, however, many programs contain far less than this amount of actual program time as a result of numerous other interruptions that do not count toward the commercial limit restriction. 34. We invite comment on whether the Commission should revise its definition of “commercial matter” to include some or all of these types of program interruptions that do not currently contribute toward the commercial limits. We note that some of the types of program interruptions currently excluded from the commercial limits may contain information valuable to children, such as promotion of upcoming educational programs or certain types of public service messages. Should we require that the time devoted to these announcements nonetheless count toward the commercial limits to maximize the amount of time devoted to program material and reduce the time taken by interruptions? This might prove especially beneficial for educational and informational programs, where it would increase the amount of time available for delivering educational messages. The issue of the total time taken by program interruptions in children’s programs arises in both the analog and digital world. If we were to revise our definition, is there any reason to apply the new definition only to digital broadcasting? Finally, we ask commenters to address whether our ability to revise this definition is restricted by the CTA and its legislative history. The CTA itself does not define the phrases “commercial matter” or “advertising.” Both the House and Senate Reports state that “[t]he Committee intends that the definition of ‘commercial matter’… be consistent with the definition used by the Commission in its Former FCC Form 303.” We seek comment on whether we must apply the definition of “commercial matter” in the way defined on former FCC Form 303 for purposes of administering the CTA. D. Promotions 35. Background. Another issue we raised in the NOI relates to the airing, in programs viewed by children, of promotions for other upcoming programs that may be unsuitable for children to watch because either the promotions themselves or the programs they refer to contain sexual or violent content or inappropriate language. This is another issue that arises with respect to both analog and digital broadcasting. The Commission staff has received many informal complaints from members of the public and children’s advocates about inappropriate promotions in programs viewed by children. We asked in the NOI whether the ratings of programs promoted by broadcasters should be consistent with the ratings of the program during which the promotions run. We note that the broadcast, cable, and motion picture industries have voluntarily agreed to rate video programming that contains sexual, violent, or other indecent material and to broadcast signals containing these ratings so that these programs can be screened by “V-Chip” technology available in television sets. The ratings identify the age group for which a particular program is appropriate and when the program contains violence, sexual content, or suggestive or coarse language. 36. Discussion. We again invite commenters to address this issue. Are there steps the FCC can take to ensure that programs designed for children or families do not contain promotions for broadcast, cable or theater movies or other age-inappropriate product promotions that are unsuitable for children to watch? One option would be to require that promotions themselves be rated and encoded so they can be screened by V-Chip technology. Yet another option would be to require that promotions be rated and that programs with a significant child audience contain only promotions consistent with the rating of the program in which they appear. We invite comment on these and other approaches that might be used to address this issue. 37. We recognize that the current ratings system was adopted by the broadcast, cable, and motion picture industries voluntarily, and was found acceptable by the Commission. Would it be preferable to urge the industry itself to make a voluntarily commitment to take steps to protect against the airing of inappropriate promotions in children’s programs? As we noted above, the issue of inappropriate promotions in children’s programming arises with respect to both analog and digital programming. If we were to take steps to address this issue, should these steps be limited to digital broadcasting or should they apply to analog broadcasting as well? Does DTV technology offer any additional capability that could be used to address this issue in digital broadcasting? E. Other Steps to Improve Educational Programming 38. We seek further information on children's television viewing habits, and in particular empirical evidence concerning the extent to which they watch designated educational and informational programming. We note that the Annenberg Public Policy Center has annually evaluated the educational and informational programming provided by networks and certain individual stations. We seek further information including the audience share of such programs and, in particular, the audience share of educational and informational programming contrasted with that of other programming for children. We additionally seek information on stations' and networks' efforts to promote educational and informational programming to children and parents. Are stations promoting this programming? How and where? Is the programming being promoted during network prime time programming? During children's programming? Is the promotion effective? Studies of the effectiveness of the three-hour-per-week processing guideline show that parents continue to be unaware of the availability of educational programming and continue to fail to identify core programs. We invite commenters to address what steps the FCC might take to increase public awareness of the availability of core programming and how to locate it. Should the FCC require that broadcasters promote core programs? If so, what kind of requirement should we impose? Should we require promotion during prime time or other specific day parts? Should we require stations to air PSAs about the value of educational programming and the meaning of the E/I icon? Are there other steps we could take apart from establishing a rule for promotions and PSAs? Should the FCC itself undertake promotional efforts to highlight and publicize core educational programming? Apart from the issue of public awareness, are there other steps the FCC could take to improve the quality of educational programming? We invite comment on all of these questions and welcome other suggestions for ways to improve both the quality and public awareness of educational and informational children’s programming. IV. CONCLUSION 39. We institute this proceeding to examine how our existing children’s educational programming rules and our preemption policies should be adapted to apply to digital broadcasters. Our goal is to ensure that, as we transition from analog to digital television, children and parents continue to have access, as Congress intended, to an ample supply of educational and informational programming specifically designed for children. We also seek comment on how the current limitations on advertising in children’s programming should be applied to DTV broadcasters in light of the new capabilities offered by digital technology. Our objective in this effort is to ensure that children continue to be protected from overcommercialization on television. Finally, we raise a number of issues related to the definition of “commercial matter” for purposes of the commercial limits for children’s programs, promotions of programs for more mature audiences aired during children’s programs, and other steps the Commission could take to help improve the availability of educational and informational programming. These latter issues arise in both the analog and digital worlds. We seek comment on all of the issues we have raised herein, and welcome other ideas commenters may have to achieve our objectives. V. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS 40. Comments and Reply Comments. Pursuant to Sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments on or before December 18, 2000 and reply comments on or before January 17, 2001. Comments may be filed using the Commission's Electronic Filing System (ECFS) or by filing paper copies. See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 Fed. Reg. 24,121 (1998). 41. Comments filed through the ECFS can be sent as an electronic file via the Internet to . Generally, only one copy of an electronic submission must be filed. If multiple docket or rulemaking numbers appear in the caption of this proceeding, however, commenters must transmit one electronic copy of the comments to each docket or rulemaking number referenced in the caption. In completing the transmittal screen, commenters should include their full name, postal service mailing address, and the applicable docket or rulemaking number. Parties may also submit an electronic comment by Internet e-mail. To get filing instructions for e-mail comments, commenters should send an e-mail to ecfs@fcc.gov, and should include the following words in the body of the message, "get form,