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Poll: Americans split on TV ratings
February 28, 1997Web posted at: 11:30 a.m. EST
(CNN) -- American parents are divided on whether the new television ratings system is helpful in choosing which programs their children should watch, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.
Only 43 percent of parents with children under 18 say the ratings are helpful, while 36 percent say the ratings do not help them make program decisions, the poll showed. Eighteen percent were unfamiliar with the system.
The poll, conducted February 24-26, involved 379 parents of children under 18 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points.
On Thursday, TV networks came under pressure at a Senate hearing to change the ratings system -- which went into effect in January -- or face having it changed for them.
TV executives told senators they are open to improving the system, which critics have called vague and useless. But the executives are showing no signs of shelving their movie-like designations from TV-G to TV-M for the ones critics want.
Critics say if the industry doesn't change the system, they will attempt to legislate one in which networks would indicate the amount of explicit language, violence and sexual content in each show.
Related stories:
- TV rating system criticized in Senate hearings - February 27, 1997
- U.S. TV industry unveils ratings system - December 19, 1996
- White House plea: Give TV ratings system a chance - December 13, 1996
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