An industry-created content ratings oversight board whose members include major studios and networks is recommending that streaming services adopt TV's age-based ratings system, given the growing number of families that can access those platforms, many of which do not use the TV parental guidelines content ratings.

The TV Parental Guidelines Board, chaired by Motion Picture Association chairman Charles Rivkin, has issued new “best practice” guidelines for streaming services focused on how they can and should adopt age-based ratings and applicable descriptors.

Also Read: PTC Says Streamers May Need Content Rules

The board recommends that U.S. streaming services adopt the age-based TV ratings for “online video assets that were shown on television, with ratings and for all movies and episodes of programs “originally produced for the streaming environment (other than with respect to news, sports, advertisements or promotional materials or movies rated by the Motion Picture Association (MPA).”

The board said the ratings should be displayed on-screen at the time a consumer accesses the online video and should, at a minimum, “strive to replicate” TV’s age-based ratings with descriptors. It also said that unless the content has been edited, any off-TV online video should apply the same rating as its TV airing.

The idea is to “encourage a consistent ratings experience for parents regardless of whether they and their families are watching content via traditional TV networks or through streaming service.”

The board is meant to ensure continuity of program ratings and content guidelines and address complaints. Its 18 industry members — Hulu is one of them — are picked by the National Association of Broadcasters, NCTA–The Internet and Television Association, and the Motion Picture Association. Its five public-interest members are picked by the chairman.

The Parents Television and Media Council, which has been calling for ratings for streamed content, welcomed the news, but called it a first step rather than a solution. “These guidelines are a small step forward to resolve widespread inconsistencies in how programs are rated on streaming platforms," said PTC president Tim Winter, who said the next steps are ensuring that the ratings are “are accurately and consistently applied,” which he said the TV ratings have not been, “and that the blocking/parental controls are effective and consistent.”

The other industry members of the board are A+E Networks, AMC Networks, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Call for Action, CBS, Discovery, Entertainment Industries Council, Hulu, Lifetime Networks, the National PTA, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Turner, Univision Communications and Viacom Media Networks.

The Parents Television Council is urging U.S. streamers to take a page from Britain when it comes to more uniform control of on-demand content.

According to a report, that country is contemplating imposing rules for streamed content from U.S. imports including Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus similar to those for broadcast content. Currently, over-the-top content is out of the reach of the FCC.

“Our research of top streaming services has also found that content ratings, and other age-gating mechanisms, are wildly inconsistent in the U.S. market," PTC President Tim Winter said. "We are glad to see Britain’s similar concerns being elevated. Streaming services should adopt similar standards as other TV platforms, and eagerly commit to putting best practices in place to better serve their users."

He said streaming services have to commit to doing a better job of providing parental controls and should advocate for more consistent standards.

PTC has moved its focus from broadcast content to over-the-top and has been calling for better parental controls given the rise in popularity of streaming video.

The Parents Television Council (PTC) continued to retrain its focus on streaming content, cautioning advertisers to pay attention to the Hulu content they are supporting.

PTC specifically called out Hulu's A Teacher, PEN15 and Harlots, and the in-development Bitches and Punk Ass Bitches, calling them all programs "brought to us via the once-family-friendly Walt Disney Company."

Also Read: PTC Praises Disney PLus' Deal with ClearPlay

PTC said that any program that features children in explicit or dangerous situations should be on advertisers' "do not buy" list.

PTC historically focused on broadcast content, which is subject to FCC indecency rules. There are no similar content regs on pay TV or over the top, but given that, as Bloomberg recently reported, ads on Hulu will likely soon top ads on the ABC network (also owned by Disney), PTC is following the ad dollars to make its pitch about family-friendly programming.

Also Read: Netflix Says 'Cuties' Critics Should Try Watching It

"As media dollars pour away from television into streaming platforms like Hulu, and as programmatic media buying gains traction, advertisers must be even more vigilant when it comes to the programming with which they choose to associate," said PTC President Tim Winter.

Parents Television Council president Tim Winter has been pushing for more accurate TV ratings and what the advocacy group sees as more family-friendly programming for almost two decades. He brought the experience of a TV veteran and concerned parent to a job he says he never envisioned himself in. He spoke with B+C Washington bureau chief John Eggerton.

How did you wind up heading this group? I grew up inside the Beltway, but D.C. wasn’t for me.  After college I went as far as I could without getting wet: Los Angeles. I landed an entry-level finance job at NBC in January 1982 and worked at the network for 15 years, serving in financial roles for the studio and broadcast operations and for the entertainment division … I left NBC [in New York] in 1996 and returned to L.A. — Kris and I were newlyweds, but she was working at KNBC and I was at 30 Rock, and a three-time-zone separation isn’t the best way to start a family. I became the CFO for MGM’s digital division, where we published video games based on the James Bond franchise and other studio properties. Then I spent a few years in the dot-com world developing streaming video technologies before starting at PTC in 2003. 

What prompted you to want to head up the PTC? During my 20-plus years in the industry, I never would have imagined myself working at PTC, let alone leading it. But when I became a father, I quickly learned how powerful the media could be at influencing a child’s worldview — oftentimes despite the best efforts of a parent. 

Why do you think the TV ratings need to be overhauled? In recent years, I think our entire nation has learned that oversight of power needs to be accurate, transparent and publicly accountable. The same holds true for an industry-crafted  system that parents are told they must rely upon to protect their children. Twenty-plus years of research (and last year’s FCC Report) demonstrate the need for improvement both to the ratings system and to its oversight. Every single night, explicit content airs on TV that networks rate as appropriate for children to watch.  Oversight of the system is handed to the very same network employees who
rate the content (sometimes inaccurately). Is that really what ‘oversight’ looks like? I’m not suggesting that there is evil intent, but the reality is that the current system is built entirely upon an inherent conflict of interest.  

PTC has taken aim at many Fox shows over the years, and during much of that time your wife was a top Fox TV-station executive. Did that cause any issues at home? During my time at PTC, Kris held senior management roles in local TV newsrooms at KNBC, KTLA and KTTV (their first-ever female news director!). She always disclosed to her employer what her husband did for a living, and she and I were always judicious not to share sensitive business information with each other. We’ve never had any problems at home, but her station management would occasionally press her for info about PTC intentions — especially on FCC-related issues like indecency and KidVid [children’s TV rules]. It was good that she could always answer honestly that she didn’t know.  And the relationship has allowed me to speak with station and network folks directly and privately, resulting in many positive outcomes.

You have said PTC is shifting its focus to streaming, ‘given that children are primarily consuming their media online.’ Do you think COVID-19 has accelerated that shift? For parents, it has never been more challenging than today when it comes to being firmly in control of their kids’ media consumption. And with so many children distance-learning due to COVID-19-related classroom closures, their average daily screen time has spiked through the roof. If the PTC is to faithfully serve its mission, then we must be present and active with our research, education and advocacy programs wherever children are consuming their media. That means less focus on the legacy, linear platforms and more focus on digital platforms. λ

The Parents Television Council is celebrating the news that content filterer ClearPlay has struck a deal with streaming platform Disney Plus to offer filtered and skipped versions of its content.

PTC has been focusing on streaming as the pandemic-struck world spends even more time entertaining itself online.

“We applaud ClearPlay and Disney+ for reaching an agreement to give parents greater control over the content their families consume," said PTC president Tim Winter. "Our research has shown that just because a content rating suggests a program is appropriate for children, that is often not the case. Even Disney+ allowed one ‘f-word’ into its release of PG-13-rated Hamilton, and families did not have the option to filter that word,” said PTC President Tim Winter."

ClearPlay already has automatic filtering deals with Netflix and Disney Plus.

PTC said that while such agreements are good, what would be better is if the Family Movie Act would be updated. Currently it allows consumers to do their own filtering of explicit content from the DVDs so long as it does not result in a new, changed, copy, which would violate copyright protections, but does not extend that to filtering streamed movies, which is done by ClearPlay.

Netflix has decided to renew its original series 13 Reasons Why for a third season even as the drama show continues to draw criticism.

The streaming service Wednesday used a YouTube video to announce the renewal of the popular series, which deals with teen suicide and sexual assault. The renewal comes weeks after the May 18 launch of the series’ season two campaign.

The second season of 13 Reasons Why performed well for the streaming service in the first few days after its premiere. The series drew an average minute audience of more than 2.6 million US viewers, with viewers watching on average more than four episodes during the show’s first weekend, according to Nielsen.

Yet the show has received criticism from outside groups who believe that the show glorifies teen suicide and bullying. Advocacy group The Parents Television Council issued a statement condemning the series shortly after Netflix’s renewal announcement: “We condemn Netflix for renewing its teen-targeted suicide drama 13 Reasons Why. The company already potentially has the blood of children on their hands from keeping this series – with its graphic suicide scene, its sodomization of a teen boy and a potential school shooting, among other adult content – on its platform for children to view. The PTC will be participating in the shareholder meeting today and asking Netflix how it justifies keeping this program on the air.”

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings defended the service’s decision to renew 13 Reasons Why during the company’s annual shareholder’s meeting Wednesday, reportedly saying that the series has been successful for Netflix and “Nobody has to watch it.”

Last month, Netflix release a video ahead of the first episode featuring cast members discussing the show’s subject matter and warning that the show many not be suitable to viewers struggling with some of the issues within the show.

The Parents Television Council has launched a petition to to get cable operators to pull We TV from their cable bundles, citing the show Sex Box, which debuts Feb. 27.  It has also threatened to hold advertisers "accountable."

We TV announced last week that it would be launching the reality show,  which it billed as "extreme couple's therapy." Couples have sex in a soundproof box onstage after consulting with relationship counselors, after which the couples talk about the experience -- there are no cameras in the box.

The idea, presumably, is to inject some thrill into "thrill is gone" relationships.

It is clearly to ill for Parents Television Council, which issued a release on Wednesday, Jan. 28 with a link to the petition and a dressing down for the network and the cable bundle itself -- PTC has long advocated for a la carte as a way for viewers to avoid what it considers inappropriate fare.

It is the first time PTC has called for pulling a channel, according to a spokeswoman for the group.

"A live sex show on TV is something that might show up on a premium cable network. But in an affront to all families, We TV is bringing that content to basic cable and potentially exposing millions of children in the process. If some adults want to watch a program like that, let them pay for it. But forcing it into the basic-cable bundle and making parents and families pay for it is an outrage. Sex Box should never see the light of day on basic cable.

We TV didn't respond to requests for comment at press time.