The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board (TVOMB) today released the results of its bi-annual national survey, which revealed that parental satisfaction with the accuracy of TV Parental Guidelines (i.e., the TV ratings system) remains extremely high and that parents find the TV ratings system a valuable resource when determining the age appropriateness of television programs. Specifically, the survey revealed that 90% of American parents found the TV ratings system helped them determine whether to allow their children to watch a particular show and nearly all parents (95%) expressed satisfaction with the accuracy of the TV ratings system for TV shows overall.
The online survey, conducted by Hart Research Associates during August and September 2022, included more than 1,050 American parents of children ages two to 17. The survey is part of the Monitoring Board’s ongoing tracking of parents’ awareness of and attitudes towards the TV ratings system.
“The television landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years as more and more programming options have been made available to American families,” said Charles Rivkin, Chairman of the Monitoring Board and Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). “This survey demonstrates the value and trust that parents place in the TV Parental Guidelines to help them navigate the age-appropriateness of TV programs. The Monitoring Board is proud to remain a trusted partner of parents when they are making critical decisions about the shows their children can watch.”
Among other significant findings, the survey revealed that:
- More than 9 in 10 parents (92%) say they understand the parental ratings for television.
- Nearly 80% of parents (78%) hold a favorable view of the parental ratings for TV programs.
- Most parents (79%) report using parental ratings sometimes or often when deciding whether their child can watch a particular TV show.
- More than three quarters of parents (79%) reported using the parental ratings often or sometimes when deciding what programs their children can watch.
- Most parents feel the TV ratings descriptors (S, L, V, D, FV) are important to know about each of the types of content indicated in the content labels when determining what their children can watch.
- Ninety-five percent (95%) of parents feel it is important to know about sexual situations (S), and 88% say it is important to know about violence (V).
- Virtually all parents (99%) who have used parental controls (V-chip) say they are useful.
- Digital streaming services remain the most common way children watch TV shows, with 86% of parents reporting their children using streaming services to watch TV shows in the past two weeks.
Overall, parents have an overwhelmingly favorable view of TV ratings, with most parents satisfied with the accuracy of the TV ratings for shows on TV today. Parents’ level of satisfaction with the content labels also holds steady across all children’s age groups. The Monitoring Board will continue to provide premier service in creating a safe environment for children and families to view TV programs and will strive to keep parents overwhelmingly satisfied with TV ratings.
For a downloadable copy of the survey, please visit the TV Parental Guidelines website at www.tvguidelines.org, or access it here.
About the TV Parental Guidelines
The TV Parental Guidelines were created in 1996 to help parents monitor and control what their children watch on the increasing number of TV channels available in American homes each day. Designed by leading organizations of the TV industry to give parents more information about the age-appropriateness and content of TV programs, the Guidelines, modeled after the familiar movie ratings, are easily recognizable and easy to use. They apply to most television programs, including those geared towards young children. The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board is responsible for overseeing the TV Parental Guidelines and for ensuring uniformity and consistency in the application of the Guidelines. The Board is comprised of up to 24 members from the broadcast and cable television industries, as well as the program production and public interest communities. The Board of Directors consists of the chief executive officers of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). For more information, please visit www.tvguidelines.org.
