This study indicates that commercial, public and cable stations all offer programs for young children that contain social and academic lessons in a high-quality format. High-quality children's programs are available, but concentrated on PBS and on cable. Sixty-five percent of all children's programming is available only on cable. The majority of programs for school-age children were judged to be violent, stereotypical and lacking in variety . It is unusual to find programs that appeal to girls' interests or gender neutral programss in the favorable parts of the schedule.
Children are much more likely to watch general audience sitcoms than children's programs.
High-quality programs have a small audience. To win the largest audience, broadcasters often stick with the tried and true. New programs that buck the prevailing trends first have to prove themselves in early and late dayparts. Under that pressure, broadcasters are hesitant to segment the audience by age, gender, or interest. Children's programming provides narrow profit margins.