TV age rating system in your country

[CountVonNumenor]

How is the rating system working in the media of your country? This is how it does here in Romania. To be honest, I find it much easier than the PG system, with all of its subdivisions. I think this image explains it much better than I ever could. And for anyone curious, the NAC (CNA in Romanian - Consiliul Național al Audiovizualului, basically take it as the local equivalent of the American FCC) is the official regulatory agency for the audio-visual market (radio, television) in Romania.

"Television broadcasts and cable television, frequency allocations, content monitoring and license allocation are done by the CNA, that is the main regulatory authority for the broadcast media in Romania. The appointments to its board are politicized, and the body thus often acts in a biased and ineffective way.”
(source  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Audiovisual_Council)

 

 few more notes about Romania:

- most of the colors for ratings are no longer used, preferring to go with a small sized semi-transparent/white logo on the bottom of the screen; only anything 18+ still maintains the color red, but it's not always happening, and there are few such programmes even being broadcasted (pornography is close to non-existent on Romanian TV programmes, and horror movies are either mostly on the foreign TV channels, or are rated 15+)

- despite the rules, most of the pre-2000 Romanian movies are rated as AP/Parental Approval, no matter the content; that is why movies containing violence, nudity or sex can be broadcasted in the middle of day, as long as they are old movies (to be honest, kind of a strange move), and it explains why some of the bizarre Romanian movies of the 90s can be seen by anyone (bit of context: after 1989, the heavily oppress Romanian cinematography suddenly got full liberty to explore whatever would have been censored by the communist regime; this way, we got some utterly bizarre, some times very violent, full of sex and most of the time just of poor fashion movies, trend that continued until the early 2000s)

Edited August 30, 2022 by CountVonNumenor

[Isaac]

It's interesting to hear how the rating works in Romania and the details behind some of it. As for the UK, we have the standard PG system, which ranges from Universal to R18. Content that is rated 15 or above can only be broadcasted once it's past 9pm. The UK also allows adult content, but this is restricted to the paid channels. Interested in hearing about other countries though!

[sudolinux]

In France, its actually the system here is really simple, there just (-10, -12,-16 -18) and yeah its pretty easy over here. I never got to understand the USA age rating system.

Before 2002, France has a system with figures and colors, before they switched to the really simple one.

Here are the new ones that we still use.

 

Here is the older one:

Edited August 30, 2022 by sudolinux

[BlueMoon]

Well, Poland Uses this system nowadays.

The green smile means the content is available for everyone, the red key means the contents is 18+. The rest is pretty self explanatory. 

The old system looked like this.

Green circle means it's available for everyone, the red circle means it's 18+. Now, when it comes to time restrictions when certain content could be broadcasted, 16+ content could be broadcasted from 20:00 to 6:00, when 18+ could be broadcasted from 23:00 to 6:00.
Also, before the year 2000, the rating system didn't exist, though some TV stations had their own rating systems! Some only had a warning that the movie is for adult eyes only, some had their own rating system, with the 3 iconographics of a red, yellow and a green key. One had their logo pulsating in red for a few seconds and a lektor (reader, off-screen reader, they would read the whole script of the movie, it's an extremely popular translation technique in Poland, since it's cheaper than doing a full dubbing. Things like, Dragon Ball or Sailor Moon were also translated this way. Also, If you'll look well enough you should be able to find Bible Black translated this way. I'm not joking about this one. It was being read by the most popular lektor at the time, so, one day, you would watch Commando from 1985, and you would hear him in it, and the next, you would him him in Bible Black saying lines of some girl in the hentai (the man had a really deep voice). Truly, an unforgettable experience.) would say something in the lines of "This video is for adults only."

Around the year 2000, major TV stations in the country came together and came up with a rating system that they all would use. It looked like this.

Well, the green circle of course means the content is available for everyone, the yellow triangle is 12+ and the red square is 18+. the only one that had time restrictions was content that was 18+ and 18+ content could only be broadcasted from 23:00 to 6:00.

[sudolinux]

Nice, never knew it was simple in Poland, i forgot to add about the french age rating, that when a film,a show is for every ages, there is no age rating in the bottom right. (the age rating emplacement.) When a film has a age rating it will be on the bottom-right and it will not vanish. Just to let parents know that its for an age.

[Ka Takane]

Here in the Philippines, there is technically no "age rating system" for TV; just general descriptors. We even had a simpler two-rating system before, I still remember the rating just being shown in plain text in mainstream channels instead of a pictogram with the plain text below (some channels still do this actually, like the government-owned IBC 13 and ABS-CBN's cable-only Kapamilya Channel).

Edited September 1, 2022 by Ka Takane
clearer alternative to "icon"

[sudolinux]

Huh, it is very precise like PEGI for video games here. Never knew it would be like that in the Phillipines.

[waddlewaffle]

so... after a bit of digging, I realized that Vietnam television does not have... a proper age rating system... or at least, the resemblance of it.

so I'd go out on a limb here and assume that our system goes alongside the other Asian countries' age rating. There isn't any age rating badge on any of our shows, film series, so you could literally by accident let young child see adultery images in films.

And it goes for most of the channels too, with I think the exception of the VTV (Vietnam Television) and HTV (Ho Chi Minh Television) branches not having any films that are too egregious on it, but still... some passes by. Violence is also courteous on our side, as TV films would show gunfights and stabbings, on scene, but subdue them down by having virtual blood gushing animations, or... just straight up dripping artificial blood on some characters. Which is a... way, I suppose. A nice touch.

(any fellow countryman here that can address me, I would appreciate it a lot cause half of the words here are just a shot in the dark.)

[adzi]

On 8/31/2022 at 3:29 AM, BlueMoon said:

 Also, If you'll look well enough you should be able to find Bible Black translated this way. I'm not joking about this one. It was being read by the most popular lektor at the time, so, one day, you would watch Commando from 1985, and you would hear him in it, and the next, you would him him in Bible Black saying lines of some girl in the hentai (the man had a really deep voice). Truly, an unforgettable experience.) would say something in the lines of "This video is for adults only."

Around the year 2000, major TV stations in the country came together and came up with a rating system that they all would use. It looked like this.

Well, the green circle of course means the content is available for everyone, the yellow triangle is 12+ and the red square is 18+. the only one that had time restrictions was content that was 18+ and 18+ content could only be broadcasted from 23:00 to 6:00.

THE. WHAT?

I'm from Poland and I cannot imagine Bible Black getting a lektor translation anywhere (heck, any actual Polish release) XD maybe some old DVD (VHS...? How old was that one?) release.

The yellow triangle in the old system was more like "parental advisory", IIRC.

[BlueMoon]

On 9/2/2022 at 3:30 PM, adzi said:

THE. WHAT?

I'm from Poland and I cannot imagine Bible Black getting a lektor translation anywhere (heck, any actual Polish release) XD maybe some old DVD (VHS...? How old was that one?) release.

Oh no, no, no no. BB never aired on TV. Hell no. At least, I don't think so. Now, it did get a DVD release. Searched through good ol' Chomikuj, the polish exquivalent of the Library of Alexandria, and well, there was a polish release, Knapik voiced it.

[adzi]

LMAO

Oh, poor, poor Tom XD what did they make you do...

[CountVonNumenor]

Please remind me to come back here one day, so that I could add some interesting background in regards to Romanian ratings, as well as the kinds of programmes broadcasted and how they evolved though time. 

[_.Mevs]

Here, in Brazil, we use this one !

• L - means livre, here it means free, it is, stuff for everyone, mostly children shows 

• 10 - recommended to 10yo+, usually has fights and that stuff or just are a bit more mature than Peppa pig for example xd

• 12 - basically the same as 10yo+, but those can have some blood and are a bit more mature, sometimes having references to s#x but nothing explicit 

• 14 - for preteens, has some sensualization, have blood and is more mature than 12yo

• 16 - for teens, can have some s#xual stuff and violence 

• 18 - for adults, can have anything basically and can be explicit 

There's a lot of TV channels dedicated to, uh, p#rn and basically that's it, pretty simple to understand actually =D

 

[CountVonNumenor]

Many months later, but I am coming back with further details and context in the case of Romania. For the first part, I will copy a few stats from Wikipedia, then then perhaps I will add some info from experience with films and TV programs.

 

In the case of films:

Ratings in Romania are set by the National Center of Cinematography (Romanian: Centrul Național al Cinematografiei) (CNC).

• AG (audiență generală) – General audience.
• AP-12 (acordul părinților pentru copiii sub 12 ani) – Parental guidance for children under 12.
• N-15 (nerecomandat tinerilor sub 15 ani) – Not recommended for children under 15.
• IM-18 (interzis minorilor) – Prohibited to minors under 18.
• IM-18-XXX (interzis minorilor și proiecției cu public) – Prohibited to minors under 18 and projection in public.
• IC (interdicție de comunicare) – Prohibition of communication.

 

In the case of TV programmes:

The Romanian content rating system has changed frequently. The ratings of the programmes broadcast often caused legal interferences, since the radio and television authorities have stricter guidelines about age appropriate rating categories for programs. If a programme is not marked with the television authority's choice of rating symbol, the airing channel often has to pay large penalties to Romanian authorities, except with 24h all-news channels, 24h advertising channels (teleshopping), pay television or pay-per-view channels (like Eurosport, HBO, etc.) and foreign broadcasting TV-channels (like TV5Monde, Deutsche Welle, arte, etc.) that are subjected to foreign audio-visual regulations from their country of origin.

The first rating symbols were adopted on May 2, 2000, as follows:

• Unrated – programmes can be viewed by any age.
• ● (green circle) - programmes are recommended with the parental guidance, may not contain any violence or sexual content.
• ▲ (yellow triangle) - programmes not recommended for children below the age of 12.
• ■ (red square) - the programme is recommended for adult viewers (for ages 18 and up), may contain explicit violence and explicit sexual content. May only air from 11 PM to 5 AM.

Few television networks (such as Antena 1 or Prima TV) used the same symbols, but in a green, yellow or red ring with a transparent symbol.
 

In 2002, a new rating system was devised. Ranking programmes and displaying the rating symbols became compulsory on every Romanian television network. The new rating system caused trouble within these networks, because the channels were required to display the ranking symbols during the entire duration of their programmes. The symbols were distracting to viewers, and networks feared that their constant presence could damage the television screen. Due to the complaints, the television authority allowed channels to choose to show the rating symbols on the left or on the right side of the screen. Later, channels were also allowed to increase the transparency of the symbols.
 

The current rating symbols were adopted in September 2002. On July 12, 2005, the symbols became transparent. In this system, the rating symbols are as follows:

• Unrated – programmes can be viewed by any age (generally news TV-programmes, mostly 24h news channels, reportages and documentaries with some exceptions. Most offensive and sensitive contents are censored during newscasts, exceptions are made when they are broadcast live and therefore sanctioned by the CNA) ;
• AP – programmes are recommended for children with parental guidance, may not contain any violence or sexual content. A white ring with a transparent circle with the font AP written inside is used for this rating. Until 2005, the symbol was put in a red circle.
• 12 – programmes not recommended for children below the age of 12, may contain light sexual content or explicit language. Most films without serious violence or sexual content fit into this category as well. May only air from 8 PM to 6 AM. A white ring with a transparent circle with the number 12 written inside is used for this rating. Until 2005, the symbol was put in a red circle.
• 15 – programmes not recommended for teens and children below the age of 15, may contain more intensive violence and sexual content. May only air from 10 PM to 5 AM. A white ring with a transparent circle with the number 15 written inside is used for this rating. (Until 2005, the symbol was put in a red circle, and the classification was 16. The 16 rating was replaced by 15 on April 3, 2006, for a short time it was used with a white ring and transparent circle.)
• 18 – the programme is recommended for adult viewers (for ages 18 and up), may contain explicit violence and explicit sexual content. May only air from 11 PM to 5 AM. A white ring with a transparent circle with the number 18 written inside is used for this rating. Until 2005, the symbol was put in a red circle.

 

And now, for a few comments:

1) There is a number of paradoxes in regards to Romanian media. Probably one of the most blatant ones is the treatment of old films. If you are to watch a film made before 1989, there is little chance any film will be rated as 12 and above. Even when the films may contain nudity or violence, the AP is used at most. 

2) As I was talking about old Romanian films, there has been a drastic shift in the creative process following the December 1989 Revolution. If before that date, films were going under strict communist censorship, afterwards, film creators found themselves with unlimited freedom. Nudity and sexual content were pretty much forbidden to be shown in films before the Revolution, but afterwards, they have become an almost integral feature of Romanian films of the 1990s. It was very easy to confuse, at least through the eyes of a modern viewer, a 1990s comedy film with a softcore porn, given the content of films such as Miss Litoral or The Second Fall of Constantinople. Surprisingly, none of these films gets even up to these days a rating higher than 12, and can be broadcasted at any time of the day

Violence and dark themes also became prevalent at the time, as they were another subject prohibited by communist cinematography. Films started becoming more brutal, trying to delve into the misery Romanians were living in through the early years after the fall of the communist regime. That trend has remained up to this day, giving a rather depressive tone to most Romanian (I would have initially said drama, but now I noticed it spread to comedy as well, as it was making fun of the stupidity of the people) films. 

3) Romania does not really have a lot of violent films, at least not in the kind of police/thriller, slasher kind of films. Only recently (about a few weeks ago) did a horror film actually got produced and released in Romanian theaters. At least as far as I am aware. Violence in films did exist in one form or another during the communist regime as well, but it was mostly relegated to ''historical" (BIG QUOTATION MARKS HERE) war films, where they used to resent large battle scenes with thousands of extras (it was the communist era, it was very easy easy to get extras from the Army). During the 1990s and after, war films have dramatically decreased in number, with the last big scale war film being realized in 1998-99. Ever since, Romanian films have felt limited in their scope and sets, particularly due to the high production costs a modern historical or war film would take. That is why I was very surprised t find out a historical/war film has actually been produced recently, and will be brought into theaters beginning with December 1st this year. A good beginning for a potential revival of this film genre, even though the film looks rather low budget. Or maybe I am history buff raging at any kind of inaccuracy I can spot in a film/TV series, especially when it comes to the military history of Romania. 

4) And speaking of big costs, most films here in Romania are still state-funded. You go with the request for making a film, the Commission evaluates your request, then they declare if it was accepted or not, together with the allocated budget. The one horror film I was talking about is one of the few exceptions, being entirely private-funded. Dut this does not happen very often. 

5) In regards to the use of age rating for documentaries. There have been cases when, even if the overall documentary was rated as AP, for specific sections of it the rating was increased. Best example I have witnessed is that of Teleenciclopedia (the Tele-encyclopedia). Probably one of the longest, still running TV programmes in Romania (started in 1965 or '67 and going up to this day), it is part of the programmed broadcasted by the national television (TVR) every Saturday. For most of the time I have watched it (about 15 years), the Teleenciclopedia used to be unrated. Afterwards, it was moved to AP. And despite being overall an AP collection of reportages and foreign documentaries dubbed and cut into 10 minutes pieces (usually one Teleenciclopedia edition has 4 segments, each segment being continued the following week if a 50 minutes documentary was cut into 5 pieces for example), some segments may get the "12" rating if the topic is more sensitive (like in regards to wars or any documentary containing light nudity). 

6) Generally, there is a lack of 18+ productions created locally (besides probably a few films like the one I mentioned earlier). A local porn industry probably exists (like in most other countries), but it is not very known, or at least I have no information in regards to its existence. In the case of TV broadcasting, 18+ content is rather rare. Most often, whatever programme broadcasted under that branding is very violent action films or horror productions - and these are mostly broadcasted on dedicated TV channels for films, late in the evening. Pornography is EXTREMELY RARE on any Romanian channel, and if it exists, it i again relegated to a handful of TV channels. Besides the channels that locked under code (so that minors may not accidentally watch them), there are only other 2 general film channels that have broadcasted such content. Both of them kept in the legal limits - the channels, more precisely were TV1000 and Film Café. TV1000 kept its adult content for the 23:00-6:00 time range, and was going into actual porn films. Film Café did similarly, but never went into actual porn films - at most, they focused on broadcasting erotic productions/films with high amounts of nudity. TV1000 dropped porn films from their broadcast schedule more than half a decade ago, and in the case of Film Café, I am not very sure what they are broadcasting anymore - it's been a while since I last opened a TV to watch something. 

As a side note, both Film Café and Film Now (formerly Digi Film) still use the red circle with the number 18 written inside for marking this kind of content. 

 

 

And with this long lecture, I hope I did not forget to cover anything I was looking for ever since I started the thread.