Kids TV: Masters of Their Universe
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Once upon a time, parents lovingly supervised their children's TV viewing--which was limited to three major network stations, all of whom deleted violence from their cartoons. These networks lowered the number of commercials they carried during designated children's hours and voluntarily provided educational programs.
Sound like a fairy tale? It really happened, but don't worry--it didn't last long.
Yes, dear readers: one day long ago, a strong lobbying effort got violence and unscrupulous ads ejected from children's TV shows. But before you could say, "Take a bow, Mom," the world shifted and the bottom fell out of the nest.
During the 1970s, computers were primitive. No one had heard of the Internet, and if you wanted to play computer games like Pong, you went to an arcade. Television antennas picked up limited VHF and UHF stations, and children's TV was packed into after school hours and weekend mornings. Subscription TV services like Home Box Office (HBO) and On TV were start-up companies; most people didn't hear of them till the next decade. The Viet Nam War raged on the evening news, not ending until 1975.
The big issues with television were that advertisers pushed junk food on kids, and that cartoons were too violent. Concerned parents banded together to push for tougher regulations, forming ACT: Action for Children's Television. Throughout the 1970s, they pressured officials, who in turn pressured the FCC, which held hearings.
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In 1973, the National Association of Broadcasters banned "host selling" on children's television. "Host selling" is where the program characters, real or animated, sell a product. It was pretty popular in the 1950s and 1960s, when Howdy-Doody and other popular characters would ask for a glass of Ovaltine.
The NAB also limited commercials to nine and a half minutes per hour of children's programs on the weekend, and twelve minutes on weekdays, and banned selling vitamins or any medicines on children's shows.
By the end of the decade, parents thought they had slain the dragon. Heck, they even got GI Joe taken off store shelves in 1978! (Well, somebody did. The toy was discontinued for a few years.) The National Association of Broadcasters and its Television Code made everyone behave. The three networks had acquiesced to parents' wishes.
The activist parents relaxed-their kids were growing up, after all. The next generation assumed that all those rules would stay in place, and that parents never had to worry again about violent cartoons or evil commercials.
Three things happened to change TV in the 1980s:
- Star Wars, released in 1977, alerted toy manufacturers to just how many bazillions of dollars could be made by selling character action figures and models.
- The Television Code rules weren't really rules in the legal sense--more like guidelines, to quote the pirate. They got dumped when no one was looking. Thank Ronald Reagan and his policies of de-regulating whatever he could: when the rules were tossed, no agency or group complained.
- Cable TV grew like gangbusters in the 1980s. Dozens of stations outside of FCC control made it impossible for groups like ACT to have any real influence on programming.
The result?
The makers of children's TV shows embraced their inner warriors. Combat and battles were back in, and host selling became the rule. Taking a cue from Star Wars, the cartoon show morphed into one giant commercial.
- In 1984, Mattel sold 35 million He-Man toys (from the Masters of the Universe TV show)
- By Christmas 1985, the ten best-selling toys were connected to TV shows
- By 1986, nearly half of all toys sold were licensed TV or movie spin-offs
- By 1987, 80% (4 out of 5) of children's TV shows had deals with toy companies
- By 1988, children's TV was packed with 27 hours / week of war-themed cartoons
- Between 1980 and 1988, toy sales doubled from $7 billion to $14 billion a year
- Also-by 1988, over 54% of American homes had cable TV installed.
And today? We've arrived at the Simpsons era, where TV shows are commercials AND movies AND marketing campaigns AND even stores (how many malls have Disney Shops?)
A Gallup Poll of November 2006 indicates that only 1 out of 4 parents worry that their kids watch too much TV. 3 out of 4 just don't care. How about the type of TV watched? 61% of responding parents were unconcerned.
An interesting question: how many of the parents polled last November were children in the 1970s and 1980s?
