In the United States, households with televisions are able to receive free, over-the-air broadcast television programming or pay for a subscription cable or satellite television service. Over-the-air broadcast television is comprised of commercial broadcast television stations—such as affiliates of networks like ABC or NBC—and non-commercial educational broadcast television stations—such as PBS member stations. For a subscription fee, cable operators and satellite providers generally offer a greater number of channels than free, over-the-air broadcast—including channels devoted to children’s programming—as well as other services, such as on-screen program guides. Following a decrease in the amount of children’s educational programming in the 1980s and an increase in advertising during such programming, Congress sought to limit children’s exposure to commercial advertisements by requiring that FCC initiate a rulemaking proceeding to prescribe standards regulating commercial advertising transmitted during children’s television programs. Congress also sought to enhance children’s educational programming by establishing that each broadcaster’s obligation to serve the public interest includes an obligation to serve the educational needs of children. It also required that FCC consider before renewing any station license the extent to which the station has served the educational and informational needs of children during its license period. As framed by CTA, the educational programming provision of the act only applies to broadcast stations and not to cable operators or satellite providers. Cable operators and satellite providers are, however, subject to FCC’s restrictions on children’s television advertising—cable operators because they were included by the statutory language and satellite providers by FCC rule. Also by rule, non-commercial television stations, such as PBS member stations, are required to comply with some, but not all, of the same requirements as commercial television stations. To help broadcasters select and air programming that serves children’s educational and informational needs, FCC established a definition and other criteria for such programming, known as “core programming” or “core children’s programming.” Core children’s programming is defined by FCC rules and is a subset of children’s programming, which is all programming directed at children, including programming that is or is not educational and informational. FCC rules broadly define core children’s programming as any programming that is specifically designed to further the educational and informational needs of children 16 years of age and under in any respect, including the child’s intellectual/cognitive or social/emotional needs. In addition, to be considered core children’s programming the program must satisfy the following criteria: It has serving the educational and informational needs of children ages 16 and under as a significant purpose. It is aired between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. It is a regularly scheduled weekly program. It is at least 30 minutes in length. It is identified on-screen throughout the program using the symbol ‘E/I’ so that viewers may identify the program as educational and informational.  The educational and informational objective of the program and the age range of the target audience are specified by the broadcaster in a Children’s Television Programming Report that is filed quarterly with FCC and included in the broadcaster’s public inspection file. Among other things, this report identifies efforts made by the broadcaster during the preceding quarter to serve the educational and informational needs of children.  The program’s identification as educational and informational and an indication of its intended age group are provided to publishers of program guides. Such program guides could include newspapers, magazines, or cable operators and satellite providers for their on- screen program guides. Broadcast stations use the above FCC definition and criteria as a guide to determine if a program can be classified as core children’s programming. It is up to a broadcast station’s management or other personnel to determine which programming will be designated by the station as its core children’s programming. To increase children’s access to educational and informational programming, FCC’s rules state that broadcast stations that air a minimum of 3 hours of core children’s programming per week are eligible to have the children’s programming portion of their license renewal application approved by FCC staff rather than by the full Commission. This rule, while not requiring core children’s programming, represents an incentive to broadcasters because approval by the full Commission could delay the renewal. Thus, to avoid Commission-level review, most stations choose to air at least 3 hours of core children’s programming per week. In anticipation of the digital television transition, FCC expanded this incentive to include multicast channels—that is multiple channels aired by a single broadcast station. Digital stations providing more than one stream of free programming are eligible for staff-level review of their license renewal application if they air at least 3 hours of core children’s programming per week on their main channel and additional hours on their multicast channels. To shield children aged 12 and under from excess advertising, CTA limits advertising shown during children’s programming by broadcasters and cable operators to a maximum of 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and 12 minutes per hour on weekdays. FCC has also developed rules to create a clear distinction between program content and advertising in children’s programs. For example, characters from a program are prohibited from appearing in or delivering advertisements during that program, an action known as “host-selling.” These rules apply to commercials during any programming developed and intended for children 12 and under, including most, but not all, core children’s programming because core children’s programming can be intended for children up to age 16. FCC strengthened and expanded its rules in 2004 and 2006 to include additional aspects of advertising, such as prohibiting the display of some Internet web addresses during children’s programs. These rules do not apply to commercials during programming intended for a general audience, such as a game show, even though children 12 and under may be watching. Table 1 summarizes key FCC rules and to whom they apply. Submit quarterly reports to FCC on core children’s programming aired (Children’s Television Programming Reports). Advertisements aired during any program for children 12 and under cannot include characters from that program (known as ‘host-selling’). Inform publishers of program guides of the station’s core children’s programming. The amount of core children’s programming aired by commercial broadcast stations in the television markets we reviewed increased significantly from 1998 to 2010, with the increases ranging from 73 percent in the smallest market (Butte-Bozeman, Montana), to 477 percent in the largest market (New York, New York). As shown in table 2, the average weekly hours aired more than doubled for six markets. As a result, viewers of broadcast television in these markets have more educational and informational core children’s programming available to them. Based on our analysis, these changes are likely due to two trends: (1) increases in the number of channels and broadcast stations and (2) the emergence of some broadcast stations that air large amounts of children’s programming. The digital television transition prompted many broadcast stations to increase the number of channels that they broadcast, a concept known as “multicasting.” At the end of 2010, half of all full-power commercial broadcast stations nationwide were multicasting a total of more than 1,000 additional channels. Table 3 shows the changes in the number of television stations and channels in the markets we analyzed. New broadcast stations also help account for the increase in core children’s programming. Nationwide, there was an increase of 754 licensed commercial broadcast stations, from 3,349 in 1998 to 4,103 in 2010—a 23 percent increase. Six of the eight markets we studied added at least two television stations that are required to air core children’s programming. For example, the Grand Rapids market added two stations while the New York market added four. New broadcast channels and stations tend to increase the total amount of core children’s programming because each additional station and full-time channel must air additional core children’s programming per week to receive FCC staff-level approval at license renewal. Increases in core children’s programming have also resulted from the small number of commercial broadcast stations that have emerged in some markets that air significantly more than 3 hours of core children’s programming weekly. Prior studies of core children’s programming have shown that most commercial broadcast stations aired an average of 3 to 4 hours of core children’s programming per week and none of the stations we analyzed aired more than 10 hours per week in 1998. In 2010, however, several stations aired much larger amounts. For example, one commercial broadcast station in Charleston reported airing an average of more than 82 hours per week, representing more than 75 percent of the total weekly core children’s programming aired on the 11 channels in the market. In some cases, these stations air more than all the other stations in a given market combined. For example, one commercial broadcast station in Grand Rapids reported airing an average of 66 hours a week of core children’s programming, compared to a combined total of 63 hours reported by the other stations in the same market. None of the stations airing significantly more than 3 hours of core children’s programming are affiliated with one of the major television networks. Core children’s programming was more available in 2010 than 1998 in that it airs across a wider range of days and times, for children of different ages. Availability of such programming is an important factor since the developmental needs of children vary by age. FCC regulations define core children’s programming to meet the educational and informational needs of children aged 16 and under and require that stations identify the intended age range for each program. FCC does not require broadcasters to target programming for specific age groups but FCC noted that research has demonstrated that the ability of young children to comprehend television content varies by age, and that educational programming should be targeted to an age range spanning no more than 3 to 4 years to ensure that its content is appropriate to the developmental level of the intended audience.