NBC promises to advertise V-Chip

NBC announced today that it plans to better educate TV viewers about technologies that can be used to filter out unwanted programme content.

Federal legislation in the US requires all TVs manufactured after January 2000 that are 13 inches and larger to be equipped with a "V-Chip," which decodes rating data embedded in television broadcasts and can be set to block certain types of programmes from being displayed. Similar to film classifications, the V-chip ratings - known officially as the FCC's "TV Parental Guidelines" - range from TV-Y (all children) through TV-Y7 (older children), TV-G (general audience), TV-PG (parental guidance suggested), TV-14 (parents strongly cautioned), to TV-MA (mature audiences).

"We serve our viewers best by ensuring that they are fully informed about the content of our programmes," said Bob Wright, chairman and CEO of NBC Universal. "We particularly want to provide information to parents so that they can judge the appropriateness of programming for their children. These changes provide our network and cable viewers with more frequent and more detailed information about our programmes. By enhancing the visibility of content ratings, and raising awareness of the V-chip, we believe parents have the tools they need to make informed decisions."

NBC will ensure that the standard ratings icon will air at the start of all programmes and following each commerical break. All NBC-owned stations will also air more public service announcements explaining what the V-chip is and how it may be used.

Many media commentators are observing that NBC's V-chip related promises are coming after some members of the US Congress indicated they wanted to see similar content and decency regulations as those applied to broadcast TV on pay-TV platforms such as cable. Broadcasters such as NBC were lukewarm to the prospect of the V-chip when the legislation mandating its presence in new TV sets was debated back in 2000.