PTC Delivers Petitions to FCC on TV Ratings; Ratings Board Restoring Complaint Line
The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board re-established a phone line for viewer complaints, said NAB, NCTA and MPAA in a letter to the FCC posted Tuesday in docket 19-41 (see 1903130061). Also that day, ratings revision proponent the Parents…
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Television Council delivered 1,400 petitions in the proceeding, said a PTC news release. The FCC’s report to Congress on the TV ratings system is due May 15. The agency should “carefully weigh” the large number of comments from the public “against the lone, hypocritical voices of entertainment industry lobbyists,” said PTC President Tim Winter in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai delivered along with the petitions. NAB, NCTA and MPAA rotate leadership of the oversight body, with NCTA President Michael Powell currently heading the board. The phone line was disconnected in 2017 “due to lack of use” but restored in response to comments in the TV ratings proceeding about consumers’ ability to contact the board. The Monitoring Board “is committed to reviewing its processes in response to feedback received in this proceeding. We will continue to assess such input and pursue any additional steps that may be appropriate,” the letter said. The PTC petitions ask the FCC to hold public hearings on improving the ratings system. Though PTC conceded the scope of the FCC report was “narrowly defined by Congress,” it could still be “a catalyst for positive change,” Winter said.