Reminder:  Children’s TV Commercial Limits Public File Certification is Now Annual, Not Quarterly

Commercial television stations have grown accustomed to placing documentation in their online public files each quarter related to their compliance with the FCC’s rules limiting the amount of commercial material in children’s television programs.  In fact, that habit has become so ingrained that many stations are still doing so each quarter even though this requirement changed to an annual schedule.

Yes, that’s right.  This is now an annual requirement (not quarterly).  The next deadline for uploading documentation showing compliance with this rule will be January 31, 2021, and will cover all of 2020. In the meantime, do keep a careful eye on children’s programs to be sure that they contain no more than 10.5 minutes of commercials per hour on weekends, and 12 minutes per hour on weekdays.