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TV Parental Guidelines are a content rating system in the U.S. and is widely used today. The guidelines were first introduced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) back in 1996 and officially went into effect on January 1, 1997.
These ratings are applied to most TV shows and are meant to give parents an idea of what to expect from a show before turning it on. There are a total of six different ratings as well as various content descriptors to look out for.
TV Parental Guidelines Ratings
| Rating | Description | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| TV-Y | This program is designed to be appropriate for all children. | |
| TV-Y7 | This program is designed for children age 7 and above. | |
| TV-G | Most parents will find this program suitable for all ages. | |
| TV-PG | This program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children. | |
| TV-14 | This program contains material that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age. | |
| TV-MA | This program is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17. |
Content Descriptors
In addition to the ratings above, you may also see sub ratings, also known as content descriptors. These are meant to indicate if a show may contain violence, sex, adult language, or suggestive dialogue. Here's a quick rundown of each of those according to the TV Guidelines website:
- D - suggestive dialogue (usually means talks about sex)
- FV - fantasy violence (only apples to TV-Y7 rating)
- L - coarse or crude language
- S - sexual situations
- V - violence