Changes Seen as Unlikely for Draft Kidvid Order Even Amid Opponents' Concerns

O’Rielly “might as well dress as an ostrich for Halloween,” said Center for Digital Democracy Executive Director Jeff Chester. “His head’s in the ground.” O’Rielly called those attacking the draft “ninnies,” in tweets defending the draft. “Item keeps kids’ shows over-the-air & lets local TV stations respond to dynamic competition,” he tweeted last week (see 1906190067).

Conversations about the draft item are ongoing and there’s still time in which revisions could happen, said O’Rielly’s office Wednesday. “But as the commissioner has outlined, this is a very delicate balance and moving any of the dials could make things more complicated.”

Draft order opponents said provisions allowing TV stations to air one hour of their kidvid required programming on multicast channels are among the most objectionable aspects. Broadcasters and their lawyers see that proposed change as vital. Increased flexibility will reduce the burden of the kidvid requirements on broadcaster schedules, a TV executive said. That change will “weaken” the ability of parents and kids to find educational/informational (E/I) content, said Institute for Public Representation Staff Attorney Lindsey Barrett. Broadcasters sought to air all kidvid content over multicast channels, and the draft version is considered a compromise with content companies and the result of extensive negotiations, said industry and FCC officials. That makes it unlikely to shift, broadcast industry officials said.

It’s possible the Democrats could attempt to push for changes as the meeting gets closer, but that’s seen as unlikely to lead to substantive edits. Commissioners say early release of draft orders led to edits on items being proposed later in the process. One FCC official said now that the Independence Day holiday is likely to squeeze negotiation over the item into a shorter time frame.

Broadcasters support the draft order, but Gray Television asked for a change, in a letter posted in docket 18-202 Tuesday. The company wants the order to do away with provisions requiring broadcasters to provide information on E/I programming to publishers of program guides. The order would eliminate rules requiring broadcasters indicate the age group targeted by the programming, but Gray wants more. “Bifurcating the requirement in this manner is arbitrary and capricious,” the station owner said. Few programming guides ever include the E/I information provided by broadcasters, it said. “Forcing broadcasters to provide specific information to program guide publishers imposes some burden on broadcasters, Even if the burden of the requirement itself may be minimal, the consequences of failing to comply with this requirement can be severe.”

Democrats in Congress are unlikely to be pleased if the order is approved in its current form, a Capitol Hill aide told us. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and eight other senators objected to most aspects of the draft order, in a letter last week (see 1906280048). One former critic of the kidvid proposal, Fox children’s show host Emily Calandrelli, said the draft appears to be an improvement over the NPRM version. The draft order caused “a huge sigh of relief,” she tweeted.

The multitude of alternative outlets for children’s content isn’t a reason to roll back the rules on a medium, said Chester. The FCC hasn’t examined the streaming industry, and what’s needed is a comprehensive multiplatform strategy for children’s content, Chester said. Child advocates in a filing last week pointed to YouTube content under FTC investigation for violating child protection laws (see 1906280026). The draft order is “a giveaway to broadcasters,” said Barrett.