TV Ratings Board Insufficiently Transparent, Says FCC Report to Congress

The bureau said the 90 days it had to complete the report weren’t sufficient time to reach a definitive conclusion on whether TV ratings match the content to which they’re assigned. Staff made recommendations to increase transparency, such as annual reports on complaints received.

Parents Television Council President Tim Winter praised the report as echoing the concerns raised by PTC. “The FCC basically agrees with us about the inherent failings of the system,” Winter said in an interview. The next step is for Congress to get involved, because relying on programmers to oversee improving the ratings process themselves would be “laughable,” Winter said. Issued by the Media Bureau rather than the full commission and concerning a body the FCC doesn’t directly oversee, the report amounts to a “raised eyebrow” but likely not much more, a broadcast attorney noted.

“Polls clearly show that parents value the TV ratings system as a source of accurate and helpful information to guide their family’s viewing,” a TVOMB spokesperson emailed. The oversight board “looks forward to reviewing the FCC report and remains committed to continuing to provide parents with the necessary resources to make informed choices.” MPAA, NAB and NCTA -- the trade groups that oversee TVOMB -- declined to comment. NCTA is currently taking its turn leading TVOMB. NCTA President and former FCC Chairman Michael Powell is TVOMB’s current head.

The record suggests TVOMB could better address public concerns “if it were more proactive in informing the public of its role and more transparent in its processes,” said the staff report. It pointed to numerous comments arguing that the general public is unclear on how ratings work, what the ratings board does, and even how to reach the oversight body. “When the Bureau began its work on this report, the Board’s website did not even include a phone number that someone could call to reach it,” the Media Bureau said. A phone number has since been established, NCTA, MPAA and NAB informed the FCC in a recent filing. “There is confusion in the general public regarding the existence of and role played by the TVOMB in overseeing ratings and addressing ratings complaints,” the report said. “Greater transparency would make it easier to assess whether ratings are being accurately and consistently applied and could reduce criticism” of the ratings body, the report said.

The video programming industry and TVOMB should promote public awareness of the ratings system and the ability of the public to file complaints, bureau staff said. TVOMB should also consider taking steps to inform the public about the complaints it receives and the networks and shows involved, the bureau said. TVOMB “could consider issuing an annual report on the complaints it has received about the ratings of programs, how those complaints were adjudicated, and whether complaints led to the rating of a program being changed in future airings,” the bureau suggested. TVOMB could also hold an annual public meeting, the report said, “This would permit the public to express their views directly to the Board and help the Board better understand public concerns regarding program ratings.”

Industry and First Amendment attorneys say the FCC doesn’t statutorily have authority over TVOMB, and Winter has conceded that the scope of the report ordered by Congress was “narrow.” The agency “doesn’t have the regulatory authority” to reform the oversight body, Winter said. “The ball is back in Congress’s court.” The bureau points out the programmers’ stances that “beyond issuing this Report the Commission’s authority to act with respect to the TV guidelines is ‘highly circumscribed’” and that greater government involvement in rating television programming would raise First Amendment concerns.

PTC will focus its next efforts on Capitol Hill, Winter said. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., previously wrote FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on the issue of TV ratings, and is seen as behind the inclusion of the provision in the 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act that mandated this report. Lankford’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment. Congressional action to compel industry ratings systems is seen as a heavy lift.

On ratings accuracy, staff was “unable to draw any definitive conclusions in the limited time we have been given to prepare this.” The record contains “sufficient concerns” to merit action by the TVOMB, the report said. “We suggest that the Board consider doing random audits or spot checks analyzing the accuracy and consistency of the ratings being applied pursuant to the TV Parental Guidelines.” Spot check data could be used to assess ratings accuracy, the document said. “Such information would also allow the Board and the industry to consider whether any changes are needed to the guidelines themselves to ensure that they are as helpful as possible to today’s viewers, consistent with the Board’s commitment,” the report said. “In this regard, we note the ratings system has not changed in over 20 years.”