The Family Viewing Hour was a policy established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States in 1975. Under the policy, each television network in the U.S. had a responsibility to air "family-friendly" programming during the first hour of the prime time lineup (8 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time). The hour disappeared in 1977 after the policy was overturned in court; however, the concept has continued to be used by some viewers who still believe that the 8:00 p.m. time slot in primetime has an obligation to have family-friendly programming.
Background
In 1974, there was widespread public criticism regarding the amount of sex and violence then on American television.[1] Although there are several examples, there was one television scene that caused a particularly strong backlash. The 1974 NBC television movie Born Innocent featured a lesbian rape scene, and was even briefly shown in daytime promotional spots for the film. The scene drew much outcry upon its first airing and was blamed for the real-life rape of a young girl, which led to a case before the California Supreme Court.
In January 1975, then-FCC chairman Richard E. Wiley addressed the Senate and House Communications and Commerce Subcommittees, stating that all three networks agreed to adopt a "family viewing hour" in response to the criticism. The National Association of Broadcasters took the gesture one step further, decreeing that local stations also air family friendly programming in the 7 p.m. time slot, a time that networks were forbidden from programming under the Prime Time Access Rule and were thus up to the individual stations to program.[2]
The president of CBS at the time wanted to go through with the measure but would only agree if NBC and ABC consented, citing a possible decline in ratings (the network had been #1 in U.S. households since the mid-1950s) if they were the only network to try the new policy. By the end of 1974, each network executive agreed to endorse the Family Viewing Hour, and to implement it by the fall 1975 season.[1]
Indeed, many television series suffered from the Family Viewing Hour mandate. All in the Family, which was the runaway top-rated show in the U.S. since 1971, was moved to 9 p.m. on Mondays after five seasons leading the Saturday night lineup. Producer Norman Lear, citing an infringement on creative freedom and on his First Amendment rights, mounted a lawsuit. With the support of varying guilds, including the WGA, he won the case.[1] The show's cast responded by recording a satirical, never-aired rendition of the show's theme song, retitled "These Are the Days".
On November 4, 1976, United States district court Judge Warren J. Ferguson declared the Family Viewing Hour unconstitutional.[3] Ferguson stated while the idea was good in theory, the FCC had overstepped its bounds in having it instituted; the FCC privately lobbied the three major networks to adopt the policy instead of holding public hearings on the matter, and Ferguson ruled on those grounds that the Family Viewing Hour had no binding merit. The decree made by the National Association of Broadcasters in 1975 was also overturned, ruling that the NAB had made the decree under duress; the ruling thus gave stations free rein on what to air in the pre-prime time slots.[1][4]
Use of the concept today
After the Family Viewing Hour was declared unconstitutional, the networks continued voluntarily to offer family-friendly programs such as The Cosby Show and Happy Days in the early primetime hours, so some families still believed in the concept.[5] Due to this point of view, in 1989, Michigan housewife Terry Rakolta started a highly public letter-writing campaign to persuade advertisers to stop sponsoring the Fox network sitcom Married... with Children after watching the episode "Her Cups Runneth Over" with her three youngest children. Consequently, two companies completely withdrew sponsorship from the show, while other companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, simply reduced sponsorship.[6] Starting in the 2000-2001 season, ABC stopped showing commercials for R-rated films during the first hour of primetime.[7] In 2003, The New York Times reported that FCC commissioner Kevin Martin called to bring back the Family Hour.[8]
In 2001, the Parents Television Council (PTC) campaigned for the FCC to reuse the Family Hour voluntarily following its report The Sour Family Hour.[9] Over the years, the PTC has run numerous reports claiming that the so-called "Family Hour" of 8:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. in Central and Mountain Time Zones) is becoming more unsuitable for family viewing,[5][9] having released a report in September 2007.[10]
Bernard Goldberg and Zell Miller[11] have used the term "family hour" in their books to describe the early primetime hours as well.
The advent of streaming television has rendered the concept of a strictly defined "family hour" difficult to enforce, given that the technology provides consumers with the ability to view adult-themed programming (including sexual content, violence and language that far exceeds what has ever been allowed on commercial broadcast television) at any time of the day.
^. Congressional Record. Vol. 121, no. 168. November 12, 1975. Archived from the original on August 26, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2005.
^Formicola, Jo Renee; Segers, Mary C.; Weber, Paul J. (2003). Faith-based Initiatives and the Bush Administration: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 154. ISBN0742523055.
^"Judge says networks, NAB, FCC all acted illegally on family viewing" (PDF), Broadcasting, vol. 91, no. 19, pp. 20–23, November 8, 1976, retrieved December 25, 2019 – via AmericanRadioHistory.com
^ abJohnson, Thomas; et al. (May 8, 1997). . Parents Television Council. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2007.
^Lane, Frederick S. (2006). The Decency Wars: The Campaign to Cleanse American Culture. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books. pp. 157–159. ISBN1-59102-427-7.
^Carter, Bill (September 13, 2000). "Disney Bans R-Rated Movie Ads Before 9 P.M. on ABC Network". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
^Rutenberg, Jim (January 25, 2003). "Few Viewers Object as Unbleeped Bleep Words Spread on Network TV". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
^ ab. CNN. August 1, 2001. Archived from the original on September 30, 2004.
^Gildemeister, Christopher; et al. (September 2, 2007). (PDF). Parents Television Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2007.
^Miller, Zell (2005). A Deficit of Decency. Macon, Georgia: Stroud & Hall. p. 221. ISBN0-9745376-3-2. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
January 20, 2023
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The Family Viewing Hour was a policy established by the Federal Communications Commission FCC in the United States in 1975 Under the policy each television network in the U S had a responsibility to air family friendly programming during the first hour of the prime time lineup 8 to 9 p m Eastern Time The hour disappeared in 1977 after the policy was overturned in court however the concept has continued to be used by some viewers who still believe that the 8 00 p m time slot in primetime has an obligation to have family friendly programming Background EditIn 1974 there was widespread public criticism regarding the amount of sex and violence then on American television 1 Although there are several examples there was one television scene that caused a particularly strong backlash The 1974 NBC television movie Born Innocent featured a lesbian rape scene and was even briefly shown in daytime promotional spots for the film The scene drew much outcry upon its first airing and was blamed for the real life rape of a young girl which led to a case before the California Supreme Court In January 1975 then FCC chairman Richard E Wiley addressed the Senate and House Communications and Commerce Subcommittees stating that all three networks agreed to adopt a family viewing hour in response to the criticism The National Association of Broadcasters took the gesture one step further decreeing that local stations also air family friendly programming in the 7 p m time slot a time that networks were forbidden from programming under the Prime Time Access Rule and were thus up to the individual stations to program 2 The president of CBS at the time wanted to go through with the measure but would only agree if NBC and ABC consented citing a possible decline in ratings the network had been 1 in U S households since the mid 1950s if they were the only network to try the new policy By the end of 1974 each network executive agreed to endorse the Family Viewing Hour and to implement it by the fall 1975 season 1 Indeed many television series suffered from the Family Viewing Hour mandate All in the Family which was the runaway top rated show in the U S since 1971 was moved to 9 p m on Mondays after five seasons leading the Saturday night lineup Producer Norman Lear citing an infringement on creative freedom and on his First Amendment rights mounted a lawsuit With the support of varying guilds including the WGA he won the case 1 The show s cast responded by recording a satirical never aired rendition of the show s theme song retitled These Are the Days On November 4 1976 United States district court Judge Warren J Ferguson declared the Family Viewing Hour unconstitutional 3 Ferguson stated while the idea was good in theory the FCC had overstepped its bounds in having it instituted the FCC privately lobbied the three major networks to adopt the policy instead of holding public hearings on the matter and Ferguson ruled on those grounds that the Family Viewing Hour had no binding merit The decree made by the National Association of Broadcasters in 1975 was also overturned ruling that the NAB had made the decree under duress the ruling thus gave stations free rein on what to air in the pre prime time slots 1 4 Use of the concept today EditAfter the Family Viewing Hour was declared unconstitutional the networks continued voluntarily to offer family friendly programs such as The Cosby Show and Happy Days in the early primetime hours so some families still believed in the concept 5 Due to this point of view in 1989 Michigan housewife Terry Rakolta started a highly public letter writing campaign to persuade advertisers to stop sponsoring the Fox network sitcom Married with Children after watching the episode Her Cups Runneth Over with her three youngest children Consequently two companies completely withdrew sponsorship from the show while other companies including The Coca Cola Company simply reduced sponsorship 6 Starting in the 2000 2001 season ABC stopped showing commercials for R rated films during the first hour of primetime 7 In 2003 The New York Times reported that FCC commissioner Kevin Martin called to bring back the Family Hour 8 In 2001 the Parents Television Council PTC campaigned for the FCC to reuse the Family Hour voluntarily following its report The Sour Family Hour 9 Over the years the PTC has run numerous reports claiming that the so called Family Hour of 8 00 p m 7 00 p m in Central and Mountain Time Zones is becoming more unsuitable for family viewing 5 9 having released a report in September 2007 10 Bernard Goldberg and Zell Miller 11 have used the term family hour in their books to describe the early primetime hours as well The advent of streaming television has rendered the concept of a strictly defined family hour difficult to enforce given that the technology provides consumers with the ability to view adult themed programming including sexual content violence and language that far exceeds what has ever been allowed on commercial broadcast television at any time of the day References Edit a b c d Brown James A Family Viewing Time Museum of Broadcast Communications Archived from the original on January 11 2014 Retrieved August 4 2014 Television s Family Viewing Hour Congressional Record Vol 121 no 168 November 12 1975 Archived from the original on August 26 2011 Retrieved December 29 2005 Formicola Jo Renee Segers Mary C Weber Paul J 2003 Faith based Initiatives and the Bush Administration The Good the Bad and the Ugly Lanham Maryland Rowman amp Littlefield p 154 ISBN 0742523055 Judge says networks NAB FCC all acted illegally on family viewing PDF Broadcasting vol 91 no 19 pp 20 23 November 8 1976 retrieved December 25 2019 via AmericanRadioHistory com a b Johnson Thomas et al May 8 1997 The Family Hour No Place For Your Kids Parents Television Council Archived from the original on September 30 2007 Retrieved September 5 2007 Lane Frederick S 2006 The Decency Wars The Campaign to Cleanse American Culture Amherst New York Prometheus Books pp 157 159 ISBN 1 59102 427 7 Carter Bill September 13 2000 Disney Bans R Rated Movie Ads Before 9 P M on ABC Network The New York Times Retrieved March 26 2009 Rutenberg Jim January 25 2003 Few Viewers Object as Unbleeped Bleep Words Spread on Network TV The New York Times Retrieved March 26 2009 a b Group calls for voluntary return to TV family hour CNN August 1 2001 Archived from the original on September 30 2004 Gildemeister Christopher et al September 2 2007 The Alarming Family Hour No Place For Your Children PDF Parents Television Council Archived from the original PDF on September 27 2007 Retrieved September 5 2007 Miller Zell 2005 A Deficit of Decency Macon Georgia Stroud amp Hall p 221 ISBN 0 9745376 3 2 Retrieved December 12 2007 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Family Viewing Hour amp oldid 1073471890, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
