New Rules for Content Ratings in Television Programs

The Regulation on Broadcasting Services (“'Regulation”) was amended by the Radio and Television Supreme Council and these amendments were published in the Official Gazette No. 32575 on 13 June 2024. These recent amendments are particularly relevant for news programs and, in some cases, live broadcast programs. The amendments introduced the following new rules, which are also in concern with the content rating for television programs:

• The Content Rating requirement is now extended to all program types, except sports competitions, religious ceremonies, and commercial communications.
• News programs, previously excluded from the scope of the content rating requirement, are now included. All symbols related to content rating must be displayed at the beginning of the news program, after the closing credits, and following each interruption throughout the broadcast. During the broadcast of pre-recorded footage in news programs, symbols related to the content and age categories (excluding ‘General Audience’ and ‘7+’) will be fixed in the corner of the screen for the entire duration of the broadcast.
• In live broadcasts that include pre-recorded footage, such content will also be subject to the content rating. On the other hand, no content rating will be applied in live broadcasts which do not include any pre-recorded footage.
• For series’, news bulletins, news programs, and other episodic broadcasts, if there are different content ratings for the different episodes or within the program, or if deemed necessary to be included in the ratings code system, pre-recorded footage in each episode will be subject to separate content rating. In other cases, the programs will be coded as a whole and registered in the system.
• For separately coded programs, the appropriate time of broadcasting identified for the highest age rating will determine when the program can be aired. Thus, a program coded "7+" can be broadcast at any time of day, while a program coded "13+" can only be aired after 9:30 PM, and a program coded "18+" can only be aired between 12:00 AM - 5:00 AM.

Given the significant role of news programs and live broadcasts in terms of duration and audience reach, the detailed regulations requiring these programs to be subject to separate content rating are viewed as a key development in enhancing and standardizing the content rating. Consequently, the Radio and Television Supreme Council is expected to continue its thorough oversight in terms of content rating for news and live broadcast programs.