TV Industry Reportedly OKs New Ratings

Most of the television industry, under pressure from Congress and parents’ groups, has all but agreed to rate its programs according to potentially offensive levels of sex, violence, foul language and even sexually suggestive dialogue, congressional sources said Wednesday.

Although some details remained to be worked out, the agreement was expected to be unveiled formally today at a White House news conference led by Vice President Al Gore.

“It’s a done deal--the TV industry and the children’s groups have told me that,” Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in an interview Wednesday night. “It will be announced tomorrow.”

Helping to remove one of the biggest stumbling blocks to a deal, McCain released a letter Wednesday evening giving the industry assurances that the Senate would head off any attempts to force stronger ratings.

In a further concession to the industry, McCain promised to block any legislation that would make TV stations and cable networks air more “family friendly” shows.

Afterward, Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) also confirmed that a deal was reached.

Under the agreement, Congress will “refrain for several years from trying to change the rating system, in order to give the rating system a chance to work,” McCain said at a news conference.

Within the industry, however, there remains one major holdout. NBC, the top-rated broadcast network, has decided not to join CBS, ABC, Fox and virtually every other cable-TV network.

NBC executives told their colleagues Wednesday they would not adopt the S, V, L and D symbols denoting sexual content, violence, profane language and suggestive dialogue, according to sources within NBC and the other networks. NBC based its position on its belief that the new ratings system was agreed upon under coercion and represented an infringement on the networks’ right of free speech.

The agreement would represent the climax of several months of intense negotiations between television executives and representatives of the National Parent Teacher Assn., the Center for Media Education, the American Academy of Pediatrics and several other organizations representing parents and children.

The parents’ and children’s groups were unsatisfied from the beginning with the age-based ratings system, which was engineered by the Motion Picture Assn. of America and put into effect Jan. 1.

The new system, however, will incorporate the old designations. For most shows these were TV-G (for general audiences), TV-PG (parental guidance suggested), TV-13 (not suitable for children under 13) and TV-MA (for mature audiences only). Children’s shows were ranked as TV-Y (for all children) and TV-Y7 (for children over 7).

The TV industry is expected to add a special designation that would apply to cartoons or fantasy programs aimed at older children, such as “FV” for fantasy violence.

In addition to NBC, one other network has not been a party to the ratings game from the outset. The Public Broadcasting Service has not used the ratings symbols that the rest of the industry initiated on Jan. 1, and it was not a party to the negotiations that have apparently led to the new system.