Study: TV Family Hour a Relic

The "family hour" is getting pretty nasty on TV. That may not be a news flash to parents who have noticed the widespread use of bad language and adult themes on shows that run between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., but the Parents Television Council strikes a pretty alarming note when it says, "corporate interests have hijacked the Family Hour from families."

The nonprofit group says violence in major network shows aired during that time period is up 52.4 percent this season compared with the 2001-2002 television season. And sexual content has increased 22.1 percent for the same time period.

Alarming, yes. Surprising, no. What the watchdog group fails to mention, however, is that during the past five years parents have gained more control over what their kids watch and when they watch it through DVD's and, particularly, digital video recorders. If a network "family hour" still exists at all, it's rendered moot by additional kids' cable programming and the tech tools we have to watch appropriate content when we want to watch it.

Ars Technica points to this opinion piece by Adam Thierer, senior fellow at the Progress & Freedom Foundation, who notes that what the networks decide to put on TV at any hour has little power over what families watch. He writes:

"Today, the consumer-empowerment revolution has kicked into high gear, now that viewers have access to a stunning variety of information and entertainment options, along with countless devices to help them manage media consumption for themselves and their families."

More than ever before, families can pick and choose from programming and DVDs to find shows that are appropriate and good. So blaming the networks is pointless when we have the tools to choose the shows we want to see, when we want to see them.

As Thierer says, "I happen to agree with the PTC that not all of the programming shown on broadcast TV at 8 p.m. is appropriate for my children. But like millions of other parents, I can now take matters into my own hands."

Do you agree, or do you think the networks still have a responsibility to air content appropriate for children of all ages from 8 p.m to 9 p.m.? How do you handle this programming conundrum in your house?

LINKS: PTC Study: Broadcast TV Family Hour Fare Filthier Than Ever [Parents Television Council]
PTC forgets about DVRs, trashes trashy TV fare [Ars Technica]
Who Killed TV's "Family Hour"? [City Journal]