The ANA strongly supports the self-regulatory television ratings process as administered by the Media Rating Council (MRC). We believe the current system works effectively and therefore, we do not support the proposed FAIR Ratings Act, a bill that will mandate the federal government to regulate television ratings by requiring all television ratings companies to be accredited through the MRC.
The ANA does not support this legislation for two main reasons:
- The advertising industry has a long and productive history of self-regulation and opposes government intervention unless absolutely necessary. We believe the current voluntary accreditation process with MRC involvement is effective.
- This proposed bill would slow the introduction of new technology and create barriers to entry for new ratings services and for new products within those services. If a product was prevented from becoming commercialized by a protracted, government-mandated accreditation process, we believe that development/implementation of many new products would be severely stifled.
We believe that encouraging the current system to improve through self-regulation is the way to proceed and will help to advance media measurement technology. Further, we surveyed our committee members on this issue, and the majority oppose legislation.
