It’s Time to Reexamine the FCC’s Kid Vid Requirements

I posit that the Federal Communications Commission needs to reconsider the ineffective and burdensome requirements currently imposed on our nation’s broadcasters to air a certain amount of educational and informational children’s programming on a weekly basis, colloquially referred to as Kid Vid.  While Kid Vid rules (minus the reporting requirements) apply to noncommercial educational stations like PBS, such programming is tied to the mission of these stations and PBS does not need a mandate to continue providing such content.  In fact, children’s programming on PBS is only expected to increase and hopefully be enhanced with the proliferation of the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard the Commission recently approved. For the lion’s share of Americans, cable networks also provide a host of children’s programming options for a variety of age groups, including Disney Junior, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, and Universal Kids. Additionally, there is a host of children’s programs available from popular over-the-top providers, such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, or subscription services, such as HBO, many of which have specifically targeted children’s programming as a way to gain market share and consumer acceptance. The appropriate question, therefore, is not whether children’s programming is available.  The question that must be asked is where is the market failure to warrant the continuation of the FCC’s Kid Vid mandates?  Based on the above, it is hard to conclude anything other than the market for children’s programming is booming. 


It’s Time to Reexamine the FCC’s Kid Vid Requirements