E/I
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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.
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. ([1]PDF, [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" 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.
These programs generally air during the morning between 7 and 10 am Monday through Friday, and all day on weekends, though legally, they can air anytime between 7AM and 10PM local time. However, some commercial stations would show E/I programming during hours when very few kids would watch, such as after 10AM on weekdays, when children are in school.
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 infomercials, religious shows, 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".
For some reason, the E/I Bug for qubo is the same as the one on PBS Kids.
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[edit] Demonstration of the E/I Bug
 Example of the placement of the E/I bug from PBS. Any corner of the screen can be used, as long as it is not obscured by other graphics. |
 Cyberchase promo with an E/I bug in upper right. The bug can be transparent, as long as it is easily visible (FCC standards recommend a maximum transparency level at 85%). |
 Screenshot of an E/I program on Springfield, Illinois's WCFN (during a weather warning). |
 Green Bay's WLUK shows an E/I designation for Little House on the Prairie within the station's logo bug, on the left side of the Fox 11 logo. |
[edit] Partial list of E/I programs
[edit] 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)
- On The CW: Kids' WB's first hour of their Saturday morning block features E/I compliant programming
[edit] Programs
- Archie's Weird Mysteries (synd.)
- 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.)
- Cubix: Robots for Everyone (originally on Kids' WB!; received E/I classification on the show's move to 4Kids TV)
- Trollz
- Degrassi: The Next Generation (The N)
- Jack Hanna's Wild Adventures (syndicated)
- Krypto the Superdog (CW)
- Liberty's Kids (former PBS show, now syndicated, mostly on CW/MNTV stations)
- 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
- This Week in Baseball (Fox)
- Winx Club (4Kids TV)
