By Michael Foust, Christian Examiner
LOS ANGELES (Christian Examiner) – Parents who believe television content has grown coarser in recent years now have data confirming their suspicions, and it shows that one of the elements meant to assist families – the ratings system – has actually made things worse.
The 29-page report by the Parents Television Council (PTC) compared a two-week period of programming in 1997 – the first year of the ratings system – to a similar two-week stretch in 2014 and found that:
- The number of hours of TV-G programming fell 100 percent, from 27 hours in 1997 to 0 hours in 2014.
- The number of hours of TV-PG shows decreased 39 percent, while the number of hours of TV-14 shows increased 160 percent.
- Every hour of content on broadcast primetime TV is rated either TV-PG or TV-14, meaning that broadcasters recommend all of their programming for either young teens or children – a concept that many parents would find objectionable.
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