Groups May Ease TV Guidelines Demands

Parents’ groups negotiating with the networks over TV programming guidelines have signaled a willingness to compromise on some issues, sources close to the talks said Thursday.

Many of the groups--and some congressional representatives--have said in the past that the only TV ratings system they would endorse is one that provides symbols not only for sex, language and violence within each show, but also indicates the intensity of the depictions. The guidelines the industry began using Jan. 1 now classify programs only by whether they may be appropriate for certain age groups.

Sources involved in the talks said that in the wake of industry representatives’ saying they are now willing to consider providing more content information, the majority of the critics are willing to abandon the notion of distinguishing intensity of depictions of sex and violence.

Rather than simply accept the industry proposal to add the letters S, V and L to indicate sex, violence and language, however, the critics also want TV programmers to redefine the existing broad TV-PG category (parental guidance suggested) and to attach the S, V and L labels even to programming designated especially for children.

“We’re willing to give up the idea of numerical levels of S, V and L,” one source said, “if the networks narrow the definition of PG so that a show rated PG-V or PG-S would contain only mild violence or mild sex.”

The National PTA, the Washington-based Center for Media Education, the American Medical Assn. and other groups have complained that the industry’s PG category is so broadly defined and applied that everything from NBC’s racy “Friends” to Fox’s violent “New York Undercover” has been rated PG.

Narrowing the definition would mean that many more programs would be rated TV-14 (may not be suitable for children under the age of 14), and add S, V and L designations to say why the program got that rating.

The four major networks, under pressure from Congress, are meeting with the advocacy groups during the next two weeks to make modifications in the ratings system and thereby avoid legislation seeking to force changes. There was no indication Thursday how they would react to their critics’ proposals.