Canada to Provide TV Ratings Guidelines

The Canadian television industry has decided to provide age-based TV ratings guidelines that are similar to the broad categories currently being offered on U.S. television. The decision, which must be approved by the Canadian government, comes after two years of experiments with various ratings systems, including one that provided numerical categories indicating the intensity of sex, language and violence of programs.

“Viewers wanted something simpler,” said Michael McCabe, president of the Canadian Assn. of Broadcasters. American television executives were quick to cite the Canadians’ decision as evidence that congressional critics in this country are wrong about the usability and popularity of a more detailed ratings system.