Managing TV Content

As the entire media industry has been challenged to provide parents ways to screen children from inappropriate content, the cable industry has built upon its longstanding commitment to address parents' concerns about what they and their children see on television.

In addition to offering the widest diversity of programming that viewers of all ages can enjoy, cable companies believe they have an important responsibility to provide customers with the necessary tools and resources to manage content that some deem inappropriate.

Since parents are best suited to make content decisions about the appropriateness of TV programs for their household, the industry has dedicated itself to providing customers with easy-to-use tools that both provide information about TV content and allow unwanted programs or channels to be blocked.

A combination of technology built into set-top boxes that the majority of cable customers already have, plus an enhanced TV ratings system enable parents to take charge of their home viewing environment. For customers watching cable TV without a set-topbox, cable operators will block any channels they find unsuitable for their families.

To educate viewers about the tools available to them, cable companies have invested more than a half billion dollars in commercial airtime for public service advertising that has educated consumers about cable’s parental controls, the V-chip, and the TV ratings system.