22.10.2008

FICORA follow-up survey: K ratings and broadcasting times of TV programmes still rather ill-known

According to a survey commissioned by the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA), the majority of Finnish families with children keep an eye on the consumption of the electronic media of their children under 18 years. About 80 per cent of parents control, by some means, the extent to which their children are allowed to watch television. Parents are mostly accustomed to setting a limit to their children as to when they can watch television and what they can watch. The children's use of the computer and internet is slightly less-frequently limited, but on the other hand, the total time spent at the computer is limited more than that spent in front of the television.

Parents begin to ease their restrictions on television viewing gradually as the child grows older. Half of 15-17 year-olds are allowed to select the TV programmes they want to watch. Parents mostly limit the time their 11-14 year-olds spend at the computer, whereas 40 per cent of 15 year-olds decide independently on their use of the computer.

Use of technical control mechanisms less common

The most commonly-used technical control mechanisms of the electronic media in children's mobile phones are blocking services (56%) and credit limit (46%). Among the less frequent tools are internet filtering software (23%) and the so-called childproof lock of a digital set-top box.

Announcements prior to start of TV programmes not known well enough

There was no improvement from the previous years on how parents could spontaneously remember the age restrictions and broadcasting times of television programmes with harmful content. Parents could usually name K ratings (56 per cent of parents), but the age group specific K ratings came to mind less frequently, with one in four parents mentioning the K15 rating and one in five the K18 rating. Parents did not either make improvement in remembering the announcements or later broadcasting times of television programmes with harmful content, as only 20 per cent of parents recognised them spontaneously.

When the age ratings and other limitations on viewing were read to parents, they had less trouble remembering: the K15 ratings and announcements prior to the start of the programme were best remembered by the parents.

Parents who were familiar with the age restriction practices also make use of them. Parents pay most attention to K18 ratings and their broadcasting times as well as to the announcements prior to the start of the programme.

Background to the survey

The follow-up survey commissioned by FICORA examined how well families with children know and use age restriction ratings and time limits. The target group of the survey was parents with children under 18 years. The survey continues the series of follow-up surveys from 2005 and 2007.

The age ratings used by Finnish TV channels (K11, K15 and K18) and the respective time limit (5 pm on weekdays, 9 pm and 11 pm) have been used since the summer of 2004. The K13 rating and the respective broadcasting time, 7 pm on weekdays, was introduced in the beginning of 2008.

FICORA is responsible for monitoring the compliance with the provisions of the Act on Television and Radio Operations. According to the Act, programmes that are likely to cause detriment to the children's development, must be broadcast at a time when children do not normally watch television. TV operators must also make an advance announcement if the programme is harmful. Protection of minors in legislation is applied to freely-receivable television channels. Pay channels fall outside the scope of this legislation.

The survey report in Finnish and an English summary of it are available at www.ficora.fi.

Further information:
Tiina Aaltonen, Development Manager, tel. +358 9 6966 430, 040 777 4082