TV-Y (All Children)

How to read it

TV-Y is the first of the six ratings in the TV Parental Guidelines, the US television industry’s rating system. The Guidelines say a TV-Y program, animated or live-action, has themes and elements “specifically designed for a very young audience, including children from ages 2-6,” and “is not expected to frighten younger children.” The networks or the program’s producers rate each program themselves; there is no outside rating board. The rating appears in the upper-left corner of the screen at the start of the program.

Also searched as: tv y, tv-y rating.

TV-Y and TV-Y7

TV-Y and TV-Y7 are the two ratings for programs made for children. The Monitoring Board’s answers to common questions say TV-Y means programming appropriate for children of all ages and TV-Y7 means programming designed for children 7 and older. The FCC’s 1998 order that accepted the Guidelines lists both under “programs designed solely for children”.

No content letters

TV-Y carries no content letters. The letters D, L, S and V go with TV-PG, TV-14 and TV-MA, and FV only with TV-Y7 (see content letters).

Where the rating comes from

The TV Parental Guidelines answer the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which called on the industry to create a voluntary rating system that would work with the V-chip. The FCC lists TV-Y as “programs aimed at a very young audience, including children from ages 2-6.”