E/I

'E/I', which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every broadcast station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these programs every week.
In addition, stations must identify such shows on-screen with an "E/I" bug in a corner of the screen. Originally, this was displayed only during the first minute of the program, or, as a separate announcement prior to the show, but since 2004, all E/I shows must display the bug during the entire duration of the show, except during commercial breaks.

Contents

Rule alterations

What constitutes the shows as "E/I"

Scheduling

Demonstration of the E/I Bug

Partial list of E/I programs

Blocks

Programs

External links

Rule alterations

In 2005, the E/I rule was altered again, in relation to digital terrestrial broadcast television; all stations with digital signals must carry the minimum weekly 3 hours of E/I programming on all its digital channels, regardless of the type of content they carry (such as news, weather, etc.).
In 2007, the digital subchannels' involvement in the E/I rule was changed again, depending on the number of free services offered by the station -- the station now must carry more than three hours of E/I programming, but how much more is determined by how many hours of "free programming" the station offers in digital. For every 28 hours period of free programming offered on the subchannels, the station must add an extra 1/2 hour of E/I programming, in addition to the 3 hours required on the main signal. (, [2])
Peggy Charren of Action for Children's Television, and other like-minded activists and educators, are believed to be the most responsible for this requirement, which was enacted as part of the Children's Television Act of 1990.

What constitutes the shows as "E/I"

What constitutes the shows as "E/I" is determined by the Federal Communications Commission, which enforces the regulations. The agency took a more hands-on role in enforcing the rules in 1996, after the first few years of the act were ineffective [3] as stations claimed programs like ''The Jetsons'', ''The Flintstones'', ''G.I. Joe'', daytime talk shows and ''Leave it to Beaver'' had educational elements [4].
At regular intervals, each station submits a list of programs that it either airs now or plans to air which it feels will inform, as well as entertain, viewers below age 18, and must occasionally announce on-air that this list is available to the public at the station's studios, and/or on the station's website.
In addition, all children's television programming is subject to limits on the amount of commercial advertising. Stations can air no more than 12 minutes of ads each hour on weekdays and 10½ minutes an hour on weekends. Promotion for related websites are allowed only under certain circumstances.
When the FCC announced the new requirements, local stations tried to repackage existing children's shows as educational and informative. The FCC turned down many of the requests. On the other hand, producers of true educational shows suddenly found a new market for their products, and reruns of shows like ''New Zoo Revue'' and ''Big Blue Marble'' suddenly became available on small-scale independent stations, which normally air religious shows, infomercials and home shopping programs. However, enforcement remains capricious: KDOC, an independent in Irvine, California, was allowed to count ''Little House on the Prairie'' as an E/I show; Green Bay's WLUK also uses ''Little House'' for their E/I requirements. Also, Pax's talent showcases (''America's Most Talented Kids'') and animal rescue documentaries (''Miracle Pets'') were also counted toward the "E/I" requirement, with Pax giving them a special (though not quite true) "rating" of "TV E/I".

Scheduling

These programs generally air during the morning between 7 and 10 a.m. Monday through Friday, and all day on weekends, though legally, they can air anytime between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. local time. However, some commercial stations would show E/I programming during hours when very few kids would watch, such as after 10 a.m. on weekdays, when children are in school.

Demonstration of the E/I Bug

Partial list of E/I programs

Blocks

★ ''KOL Secret Slumber Party on CBS'' block

★ ''PBS Kids'' (includes the Miss Lori and Hooper block and PBS Kids GO!, PBS)

★ ''qubo'' (NBC, ION ''(including 24-hour digital subchannel)'' and Telemundo)

Programs

★ ''Archie's Weird Mysteries'' (synd.)

★ '' (originally on CBS, received E/I classification on the show's move to 4Kids TV)

★ ''Beakman's World'' (synd.)

★ ''Captain Planet'' (TBS) ''(Only applies to WTBS in Atlanta; the national version, like all cable channels, are exempt from E/I regulations. However, the national TBS labels the morning airings of "Saved By The Bell" as E/I.)''

★ '' (CBS)

★ '' (originally on Kids' WB!; received E/I classification on the show's move to 4Kids TV)

★ '' (syndicated)

★ ''Jack Hanna's Wild Adventures'' (syndicated)

★ ''Krypto the Superdog'' (Kids' WB!)

★ ''Liberty's Kids'' (former PBS show, now syndicated, mostly on CW/My Network TV stations)

★ ''Magi-Nation'' (Kids' WB!)

★ ''Magical DoReMi'' (4Kids TV; presumably on hiatus)

★ ''NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad'' (ABC)

★
★ ''NBA Inside Stuff'' (predecessor show, now on NBA TV)

★ ''NFL Under the Helmet'' (Fox)

★ ''Phil of the Future'' (ABC)

★ ''The Proud Family'' (ABC)

★ ''Saved by the Bell'' ''(the version on the national TBS channel includes an E/I bug, though they are exempt from E/I regulations.)''

★ ''Stargate Infinity'' (4Kids TV/syndication)

★ ''This Week in Baseball'' (Fox)

★ ''Trollz''

★ ''Urban Style'' (synd.)

★ ''Wildlife Jams'' (The Tube Music Network)

★ ''Will & Dewitt'' (Kids' WB!)

★ ''Winx Club'' (4Kids TV)

External links

★ FCC: Consumer Facts about Children's TV

★ American Public Television: Distribution Services (includes E/I info)